


The Road That Takes Me Back

by normaltrout



Category: Hey Arnold!
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Drama & Romance, Drug Use, F/M, Fluff, Lemon, Multi, Sex, mature - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:08:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 13
Words: 113,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27735847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/normaltrout/pseuds/normaltrout
Summary: Following their time in San Lorenzo, Helga Pataki believed that her life was finally perfect. She got the boy, made some unexpected friends, and was finally coming into her own. That all changed when she moved to California, following the merger of Big Bob's Beepers. Now she's back, and secrets seem to continuously shroud the two teens. Will her and Arnold reconcile? How has he changed in her absence?
Relationships: Helga Pataki/Arnold Shortman, Phoebe Heyerdahl/Gerald Johanssen
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	1. Down the Same Road Once More

**Hi all! This is my first time writing a fanfiction story. I had always adored Hey Arnold! growing up, especially the characters within the show. I plan on this being a somewhat decent sized story, but we will see how things pan out. I adore the hot/cold and complicated relationship of Helga and Arnold, so this will focus on that. This story will switch viewpoints between Helga and Arnold as needed, but will focus more on Helga. This is a post TJM fic, and I'll be starting off with a prologue to set the story. The M rating refers to sexual situations, some drug use and language. I don't really have much else to say lol. The cast and characters of Hey Arnold! belong to Craig Bartlett. Feel free to drop a review. Happy reading!**

**Prologue: Down the Same Road Once More**

Raindrops were cascading from the sky and gently pelting the windows of the dark SUV, as it made its way through milky mists on the winding road. A girl with waist length, golden blonde hair allowed her cerulean eyes to follow the streaks of water trailing down the glass. Her head gently leaned on the cold car window, creating a small fog on the glass as breath escaped from her pouty lips. She allowed her eyes to blink as she averted her gaze to the passing conifers and dense ivies typical of the Pacific Northwest. She felt almost in a daze, as the scenery had felt so familiar yet so foreign. Her mind swirled with faint nostalgia and faded memories tickled her brain. She once again stared at the trickling raindrops on the window, watching the small streaks of water competing to reach the bottom of the glass. A small yawn forced its way from her mouth as she stretched her arms over her head and groaned tiredly.

"Criminy, Bob how much longer?" She said as she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned her back against the car door. Legs stretched over the cold leather of the back seat.

"Now c'mon Helga," a tired female voice from the passenger seat replied. "You know we're close. Don't you recognize the road?"

Helga rolled her eyes. "Of course I do, Miriam. It's not my fault Bob drives like a fucking _old_ _man_. We should be there by now!" she snapped back.

"Hey! Hey hey hey! You watch your mouth little lady! And I'm not the one driving like an old man, for pete's sake. It's this idiot driving this green Packard in front of us," her father shot back. Helga could see his strong furrowed brow shooting her a glare from the rear view mirror. She simply sighed and forced her eyes shut. _Might as well try to get some shuteye._ A shiver suddenly went down her spine and goosebumps pricked up her limbs.

"Can you at least turn the freaking heater up? I'm freezing to death back here!" she replied.

Her mother's hand cranked the knob and Helga could feel the warmth of the heater creeping towards the back seat. Suddenly her eyes flew open and her head shot up. She grabbed the two seats in front of her and leaned herself forward.

"Did you say a _green Packard_?" She asked quietly. Her eyes were locked on the handsome old car travelling modestly in front of them. She turned the knob of the heater back the other way as she felt a flush overtaking her pale face.

" _Shit._ "

* * *

Helga Pataki never in her wildest dreams imagined coming back to Hillwood. It had been five years since she stepped foot on these streets. She had lived there from the time she was a baby until the end of her sixth grade year. Throughout her childhood, her father Bob (or Big Bob, as he was known back then) owned a beeper and cell phone emporium. Her father had modest success for awhile, but once the age of cellphones really took off, the need for beepers was non-existent. However Bob was a smart businessman with smart investors, and knew they had to get with the times so-to-speak. Beepers were replaced with high end smartphones, laptops and flat screen TVs. Once Helga started approaching the end of elementary school, Bob got an offer he "couldn't damn well refuse" from a reputable electronics corporation in California. The merging of the two businesses would mean more money, and Bob Pataki never said no to more money. Big Bob's Beeper Emporium had then metamorphosed into Elexus, a sleek and modern company that prided itself on offering the latest and greatest models of electronics on the market.

Helga was of course heartbroken when she had to say goodbye to the town she knew and loved. She always thought California was a joke and a yuppie's playground, even at the age of eleven. Her sixth grade year was a dream for someone like Helga, who never seemed to have anything going right for her. The summer after fifth grade was what got the ball rolling on what she thought was the best year of her life. She had helped the boy she loved since she was three years old reunite with his long lost parents in San Lorenzo. This earned her a kiss, the admiration of her classmates, and even the boy's heart. For the first time in her eleven years of life, she actually looked forward to going to school. She had her best friend Phoebe and her boyfriend Arnold at her side, as well as the support and friendship of all of her classmates. Helga had always sported a tough girl exterior, but now it was respected and even welcomed. Her bullying ways had been softened from pummeling her peers and wearing a constant scowl. She had become someone who was seen as strong, albeit still a bit fiesty, intelligent and passionate. Her classmates had grown to enjoy hearing her recite poetry and even laugh at her attempts to roast them at the student lounge known as the Coco Hut. For the first time in her life she had allowed her walls to come down a bit and had grown to love the people around her.

Before the San Lorenzo trip, Helga hadn't been viewed as someone who was considered feminine by her classmates. While she did sport pink dresses, pigtails and a large pink bow, she also wrote football plays and had a large dark unibrow that was accentuated by her signature scowl. She figured talking with your fists was always easier, and more effective, than trying to work out your _feelings._ It wasn't that she necessarily hated the idea of femininity per se, but more the idea that she would be deemed weak or idiotic. There was also the looming fear of rejection and vulnerability that made it easy for her to cling to her facade at the time.

The first few weeks of sixth grade she would have thought she was on another planet. She had people come up to sit with her at lunch and classmates texting her to join them for study sessions. Even Rhonda Wellington-Lloyd, the self proclaimed queen of the school and fashion guru who she thought hated her was suddenly catching her up on all the latest schoolyard gossip and passing her notes in class. The second week of the school year, Rhonda had approached Helga at her locker after school.

"Well hello Helga," Rhonda said casually as Helga grabbed her books from her locker, shoving them half-hazardly in her backpack.

"What's up princess?" she replied casually, still slightly surprised over Rhonda's sudden interest in her. Out of her peripheral, she saw the slim raven-haired girl staring at herself in a compact mirror, applying cherry lip gloss to her pouted lips.

"You know, I'm having some of the girls stay over at my house on Saturday night. I thought maybe you'd like to join us?" she said, eyes locked on her reflection in the small mirror in her hand, her mouth slightly agape while she touched up the corners of her shiny mouth. Helga froze, _Rhonda Lloyd inviting me to one of her lame sleepovers? Well this is definitely a first._ She couldn't help but smile inwardly, usually she would just hang out with the guys or write poetry in her bedroom on the weekends, this was certainly different. She couldn't help but feel a little pleased with herself for receiving an invitation, and she knew her best friend Phoebe would likely be there which gave her some relief. At least she would have someone she was comfortable with around while she waded the waters of her newly formed friendships.

Helga stood up, slinging her backpack over her shoulder and closing her locker. She crossed her arms and casually leaned her shoulder against the locker door. "Ya know what Rhonda, sure - why the hell not? Could be fun. Not like I got anything better to do on a Saturday night," she answered with just a touch of her usual sarcasm in her voice. She figured she wanted to sound casual, it's not like she was suddenly dying to fit into the inner circle of someone like Rhonda Lloyd, but it felt good to be invited for once.

"Sounds lovely. Everyone will be arriving around five o'clock. Don't trouble yourself by bringing food or anything, snacks and pizza will be provided." The dark haired girl replied. Suddenly she clasped her compact shut, sticking it into the small, red leather clutch she had in her left hand. They walked out of the school together and Rhonda walked towards a black car, a man in a uniform opened the door of the back seat for her, taking her backpack from her and placing it in the trunk. "See you Saturday night Helga, don't be late!" She called as she sat herself in the car, her driver closing the door for her, and wiggled her fingers goodbye as the heavily tinted window rolled up.

As the car drove away Helga turned to walk towards home, but instead felt herself crashing hard into a body and falling on the cement beneath her. She rubbed her head in pain and clenched her right hand into a fist, "Jesus christ you mouth breather! Look where yo - Arnold?!" She gasped and her blue eyes widened as realization washed over her. Her face softened a bit and her fist relaxed as she saw the blond-haired boy sit himself upright after their collision.

"Hey Helga," the boy said with a small smile, wincing a bit as he rubbed his own head in reply. He stood up and stretched his hand out to her, "Funny running into you again. Seems to be happening a lot eh?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah, yeah real funny, Football Head. Can't you get your head outta the clouds? I don't get why you're always crashing into me like that," she retorted and rolled her eyes with a small but noticeable smile on her face. She grabbed his hand as he hoisted her off the ground.

"Sorry I guess I wasn't paying much attention. Hey was that Rhonda you were just talking with?" he asked as he dusted himself off.

"Why what's it to ya, bucko?" she asked, he couldn't help but notice a faint smile on her mouth. Arnold smirked and shook his head, putting his hands up as a passive gesture.

"Just asking. Seems like you two are off to a good start this semester," he answered cheerfully as he turned to walk with her in the same direction.

"Yeah well, I figure it's better than us biting each other's heads off all year," she responded very matter-of-factly.

"Rhonda isn't so bad Helga, who knows maybe you guys will end up friends this year?" he said simply as he walked alongside the young blonde.

Helga put her hands on her hips and frowned, "Yeah good one, Arnoldo, me and Princess Rhonda _friends_. I'd rather stab my own eyes out."

" _Helga_ ," he started a bit sternly, "Just give it a chance. Maybe you'll find that you genuinely like her," Arnold finished with a reassuring smile. Her face softened a bit _God he always gets me with that stupid, beautiful, stupid smile of his._ Even though she was secretly a little excited for Rhonda's sleepover, the idea of suddenly getting chummy with the girl was still foreign to her. After all, she knew all too well how badly they could butt heads, but she was hopeful after the several positive encounters she had had with the girl thus far. Even her rants about runway fashion and excursions to Europe didn't seem to annoy Helga the way they did in the past.

"Well we'll see about that now, won't we? She invited me to some dumb sleepover Saturday night. I wasn't even gonna go but Phoebe will be there so it can't be _that_ bad," Helga finally said. She looked down and saw Arnold giving her a crooked grin as he stopped walking, she noticed they were already in front of the Sunset Arms boarding house, the place he called home.

Arnold took her hand in his and pulled her into a hug. Helga sighed dreamily and hugged back for a moment before pulling away suddenly when she felt her cheeks redden. "Well that's certainly motivating," she muttered with a smirk. She rubbed the back of her neck and looked away so that her blush wasn't so noticeable. Even though he always hugged her after their walks home from school since they started dating, her heart still pounded into her throat when his arms wrapped around her waist. It was such a new feeling for her, having her feelings suddenly reciprocated by the boy she had been fawning over for so long. The hug wasn't lost on her and her smile widened. "Friends with Rhonda, huh? Fingers crossed I don't turn into a mindless bimbo overnight," she stated with a snicker.

Arnold's smile grew as he walked up the steps, "We both know Helga G. Pataki is no bimbo. Enjoy the sleepover, I'll text you tonight," he said with a wink. He opened the door to the boarding house and disappeared inside as she waved goodbye. Helga felt the blush spread across her cheeks once more as she turned on her heel and kept walking down the sidewalk towards her house.

* * *

Saturday had come rather quickly for the anxious sixth grader as she threw some clothes into a duffel bag before packing her toothbrush from the bathroom. She grabbed her phone to check the time. _Crap 4:42. My first sleepover with these idiots and I'm running late._ She turned and thought about grabbing her pink notebook and favorite purple pen from her room but stopped herself. _Ah cripes. Probably a good idea to leave it. Rhonda will skin me alive if she doesn't have my unwavering attention._ She quickly ran down the stairs, pulled her sneakers on and tied the laces in haste. "Bye Miriam, off to Rhonda's," she yelled as she grabbed her jacket from the coat rack.

"Okay honey, have fun with your friends at your little sleep over," her mother called back sleepily from the couch. Helga rolled her eyes at the sight of her mother who was currently in repose after drinking one too many "smoothies" again. Her mother had been an alcoholic as long as she could remember. It wasn't until fourth grade that Helga truly realized what was going on. She always thought her mother was kind of an airhead and couldn't remember a time not smelling a certain pungent odor emanating from her. Miriam was constantly misplacing things, leaving her purse on top of the car or falling asleep at the dinner table. It finally all made sense when she was forced to start extensive community service and went to "meetings" twice a week. Helga had finally put two-and-two together after that. Before it just seemed like her mother's normal behavior. Or perhaps Helga just denied the existence of the liquor bottles in the cupboard until it wasn't so deniable anymore. Her father was absent once again this Saturday evening, an action that had become more commonplace within the last year or so. For a while Helga just figured Big Bob was working long hours, as he often did, until one night Miriam in a drunken fit told Helga he was banging his secretary.

Helga closed her front door behind her and started jogging down the street towards the extravagant home of Rhonda Lloyd. She heard a buzzing from her duffel bag and grinned when she saw the words "Football Head 3" on her screen. She opened the message and read it while hugging her bag to her body with her left arm.

"Good luck. And remember to be yourself, you're going to have fun :)"

She smiled at the words on her screen and started tapping her phone with her right thumb.

"Wouldn't dream of being anyone else, football head ;)"

She hit send and shoved her phone back into her bag. She chuckled a bit and jogged a little faster, feeling herself getting more amped up for the impending sleepover. _Never in a million would I have thought,_ smirking to herself as her legs carried her down the sidewalk.

Helga was huffing, slightly out of breath as she approached the wrought iron gate of the Wellington-Lloyd mansion. She pulled out her phone to look at the time _Wow 5:14, I'm practically on time!_ she thought to herself as she pushed the button on a small box by the gate.

She heard an unmistakable voice call out from the box. "Yes, who is it?" the female voice asked in sing-song. Helga rolled her eyes a bit as the words emanated from the box.

"It's freaking Barbara Walters, princess," she replied to the little gold box with a smirk.

"Oh Helga, I'm so happy you've arrived, let me buzz you in," Rhonda replied.

The gate buzzed and swung back allowing Helga access to the estate. She looked around and saw topiaries, roses bushes and a small pond stretching out over the well manicured lawn. _Criminy this place is like a fucking castle,_ she thought as she walked up the sidewalk, small lights lined her path as she approached the front door. She knocked nervously, suddenly feeling very small and strange standing at the grandiose granite entryway. The door swung open and a thin girl wearing a red nightgown with green smeared all over her face greeted her. She was donning pink curlers in her dark locks and had a polite smile on her face.

"Welcome Helga, I trust you found the place alright? Please come in, and leave your shoes by the door," she said as Helga gave a small eye roll and kicked her sneakers into the pile of shoes to the right of the doorway. Her eyes widened as she looked at the giant room surrounding her.

"Jesus Rhonda what do your parents do, anyway?" Helga remarked softly as she looked at the grand house in awe. Rhonda simply smiled and explained how her father was a stock broker and her mother was a defense attorney, and that together they did quite well financially. The home was shrouded in gold and marble and a large staircase took up the back half of the vast foyer, a luxurious crystal chandelier dangled from the ceiling over them. They started up the seemingly never-ending steps as Rhonda gave her an itinerary of the night. Helga was clutching her duffel bag close to her chest, unable to listen to the raven-haired girl's words as she gawked at the mansion. She snapped back to attention as they reached the peak of the stairs and entered a large room she assumed was Rhonda's. Everything from floor to ceiling was white and scarlet, her eyes fell on a sheer red canopy hung from the high ceiling that blanketed over a large bed frame. The bed itself adorned with an endless pile of pillows and a lavish red duvet. Helga looked down and felt the most soft, plush, white carpeting between her toes.

"Everyone's already arrived, the girls were just asking about you. Please make yourself at home," Rhonda said with a smirk, seeing Helga's reaction to her living quarters. Helga looked around and her eyes immediately found a short, black haired girl who was rolling a brunette lock of their classmate Sheena's hair into a pink curler.

"Helga, you made it!" the small girl squealed and ran over, wrapping Helga in a tight hug. Green stuff was smeared over her face as well, and her signature cat eye glasses were missing from her face. The other girls said hello in chorus and waved excitedly, their faces also painted green and donning different pajamas for the night.

"Hey Pheebs, hey guys" she said greeting everyone casually, "Mind telling me what the hell is on all of your faces?" Helga asked as she snickered at the sight of her classmates. They simply laughed in reply, by now they had learned to take the remarks of Helga G. Pataki in stride.

"We're doing facials Helga!" Sheena responded excitedly in her high-pitched voice, "Hurry and get changed and we'll do you next!"

"Ohh no, sorry girls but Helga here doesn't _do_ face masks," she stated firmly, shaking her head as she crossed her arms. "Rhonda, where can I change into my pajamas?" she asked and Rhonda pointed to a door on the left wall of her room. Helga went in closing the door behind her and quickly changed into her oversized pink nightshirt, looking at the bowl of green stuff on the bathroom counter. She frowned a bit and leaned her face down to smell the contents, _Hm it actually kinda smells good. Sort of fruity._ She exhaled harshly and looked at herself in the large bathroom mirror, seeing her reflection under the bright bulbs and against the stark white of Rhonda's personal bathroom.

She had never been self conscious until recently, and it had been increasing since returning from San Lorenzo. Once sixth grade started it didn't go unnoticed that her fellow female classmates were all sporting makeup and brand new clothes. Helga would have to blind not to see that she was the only one not to participate in the newfound rituals brought on by puberty, and she felt her self confidence wavering as of late. Her new relationship with Arnold had been making her analyze herself a bit more as well, and the desire to look good around him started clouding her mind.

She sighed and stared at her dark unibrow and pigtails in the mirror, suddenly hating how they looked. She carefully spooned some of the green goop out of the bowl and smeared it on her face. It was colder than she expected but it felt somewhat soothing on her pale cheeks. _Not as horrible as it could be I guess,_ she thought and carefully pulled her hair out of her signature pigtails. Her hair was longer than she remembered when it was down, and she gulped as she took the pink bow from the top of her scalp and used it to wrap her hair in a low ponytail. She took a deep breath and opened the door, when the other girls caught sight of her with her matching green face they gave small cheers of excitement.

"Oh Helga, I'm ever so glad that you decided to participate!" a petite girl with auburn hair named Lila said with a giggle.

"Whatever _sunshine_ , don't get too excited. I just figured when in Rome…" Helga responded, arms crossed not daring to make eye contact with her peers. She ventured across the room, sat down next to Phoebe and sighed.

"You know Helga, sometimes allowing yourself to experience new things, while a bit scary, can also be rather enjoyable," Phoebe said with a smile, "I hope you're not feeling too nervous in being here with our classmates."

"For crying out loud Pheebs, pipe down will ya?!" Helga exclaimed and clapped her hand over the mouth of her friend. "The last thing I need is Rhonda freaking Lloyd thinking I'm nervous around her," she looked around ensuring that no one was listening in, and took her hand from Phoebe's mouth once she was sure no ears were prying.

"Helga I think you're reading the situation all wrong. I'm sure Rhonda didn't invite you to torment you, she seems to have taken a genuine interest with you. Perhaps she is hoping to forge a new friendship," Phoebe responded in a near whisper, watching Helga's face soften a bit from her reassuring words.

"We've been hanging out with Geraldo and Football Head too much Phoebe, they're rubbin' off on ya," Helga muttered. However Phoebe noticed the small smile hidden on her best friend's face. She giggled as she shook her head at the blonde girl, but smiled encouragingly.

Suddenly Helga felt a gentle tug at her ponytail. Startled, she whipped her head around and saw Rhonda curiously running her fingers through her golden locks. "Helga, I never realized how lovely your hair is. I'm honestly a little jealous, how do you keep it so healthy?" Rhonda asked, genuine curiosity ringing in her voice.

"W-well I dunno, geez! I don't sit and paw at it like you are right now. B-but thanks, Rhonda," Helga replied, Phoebe noticed the usual harshness in her voice wasn't as pronounced. If anything, she thought, she merely sounded surprised at the interaction taking place.

"Well I hope you decide to wear it like this more often, it suits you, you know," Rhonda said with a smile as she gently dropped Helga's hair against her back. She stood up and clapped her hands together, "Alright girls, before the pizza gets here it's time for everyone to try something new," she announced. "We're waxing our eyebrows!" Helga's eyes simply widened but she didn't protest. She knew she was probably the only one who really needed it, and she was relieved she didn't feel anxiousness gripping her anymore. _That's new_ , she thought to herself as she breathed a little more easily. _Rhonda Lloyd, huh? Who would have guessed I might actually like you, princess._

* * *

Bob made the moving announcement two weeks before Helga's sixth grade graduation. She in turn made that same announcement the next day at lunch sitting on a large table in the cafeteria. The dark cloud looming over the sixth grade class of P.S. 118 was evident as she explained the details. She hated the idea of moving, especially now that she had finally gotten a bit more comfortable around everyone. Her self confidence no longer wavered the way it had at the beginning of the year, and Phoebe and Rhonda had been really successful in helping Helga feel more attractive. Today she was clad in dark washed skinny jeans, a plain light pink t-shirt with a pocket over her left breast, and white sneakers. She wore her hair down around her shoulders, something she had done more often as of late. Most notably her eyebrows had remained separated ever since Rhonda's party at the beginning of the year. She still avoided wearing makeup even now after deeming it too ridiculous to put the effort into.

"So yeah I guess he just got some deal from this hotshot down in California. He said he is going to finish selling most of his stock next week, then we leave right after the graduation ceremony," Helga told her classmates, biting her bottom lip in discomfort. Arnold was holding her hand, tears swimming in both of their eyes thinking about her sudden and likely permanent departure.

"Well dang, guess we gotta find ourselves a new catcher. I'm awful sad to see ya leave us," a tall boy with a southern accent said as he rubbed the back of his neck with a frown.

"Stinky's right, this really blows! None of these schmucks can keep up with me at the skatepark like you do Helga," a boy with a backwards hat covering his black hair said in agreement.

Helga forced a smile, "Sid for fuck's sake we all know you're the one keeping up with me."

"She's right Sid you suck!" a large boy named Harold said mockingly as obnoxious laughter escaped him. Everyone joined in laughing for a moment before continuing to offer their grievances at the thought of their friend leaving them for good.

"Well what am I supposed to do? Who will come shopping with Nadine and I now?" Rhonda asked as she flipped her hair and sighed, a girl with a dark complexion and braided blonde hair sadly nodded in agreement.

Helga looked up and smiled at the girl, but simply shrugged her shoulders. "Look guys, I know this whole thing is shit, but now that it's out there I really don't wanna think about it anymore right now. Let's just raise hell the next two weeks and we can all cry like a bunch of babies together when I actually leave." A few tears fell to her cheeks but she plastered a forced smile on her face in reassurance. Her eyes met with Arnold's, he offered her a small smile and squeezed her hand gently. She squeezed back in reply before shutting her eyes tight to keep the tears from pouring out. Her head fell to look at the floor, hoping to mask some of her misery behind her golden hair.

She felt a small hand on her knee and looked up to see the face of Phoebe Heyerdahl, her best friend and confidante since preschool. Helga stood, pulled her into a hug and the two girls sobbed over the terrible news. Phoebe's boyfriend Gerald had come over to put a reassuring hand on his girlfriend's shoulder, and Helga felt a tender touch around her waist from Arnold.

"Don't worry Pataki, I'll keep her safe while you're gone," Gerald said while running a hand through his coarse hair, relieving the somber silence. Helga looked up and playfully hit his shoulder with her fist.

"You freaking better Geraldo or I'll have your head on a platter!" She laughed as the tears kept falling, "Keep an eye on 'em for me Football Head, god knows without me around they'll need your morality to keep 'em in check. Make sure your best friend Gerald here doesn't try any funny business with Phoebe." Arnold smiled up at her, gently taking her face in his hands and wiping the wetness from her cheeks. She pulled him into a death grip of a hug and he gasped a bit at her sudden display of affection. He simply kissed the top of her head lovingly and sighed into the hug, Helga was rarely the one to initiate these things.

"I'll keep them in line for ya, Helga," he said with a weak chuckle, not allowing his arms to unwrap from the blonde until the bell rang for class.

* * *

The daily routines of the next two weeks played out in normalcy. Helga studied with her friends for their final exams, she met Harold, Stinky and Sid at the skatepark, and played catch with the whole gang. She had dinner with Arnold at the boarding house with his family several nights before she had to leave. Arnold's grandparents Phil and Gertie were especially saddened by the news of Helga leaving, and made it very clear how special she was to the family. One evening, his parents Stella and Miles did their best to try to cheer everyone up by going through pictures of them and all their classmates during their trip to San Lorenzo. Helga appreciated the gesture but couldn't help but feel immense dejection at the sight of everyone's smiling faces from a happier time that she knew was gone forever.

The night before graduation, after enjoying dinner with Arnold's family and the boarders, Phil and Gertie were leading everyone in singing rounds of "Camptown Races." Helga was laughing and shaking her head in amusement, but was happy to join in the merriment that was distracting her from her current predicament. She was clapping and singing along with everyone, when suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at Arnold who was nodding his head towards his room, ushering her to follow. She took his hand and they ran down the hall and up the stairs to his room. He smiled as he opened the skylight, and climbed the ladder onto the rooftop. She giggled as he grabbed her hand and helped hoist her up into his arms. They laughed together as he spun them around until they finally collapsed. They laid there out-of-breath and with goofy smiles stuck on their faces.

Arnold got up, and held a hand out to Helga, helping her onto her feet. She kept his hand in hers, her face flushing as she smiled and kissed his cheek. She turned herself westward and noticed the sunset painted on the horizon before them. Arnold followed her obediently as she pulled them to the railing at the edge of the building. The city skyline was engulfing the great blood orange sunburst that seemingly ripped into the sheet that was the evening sky. Vibrant scarlet and salmon hues streaked across the setting sun as bright stars slowly poked holes into the velvety blue backdrop. He looked at the angelic face of the girl next to him, tears brimming her sapphire eyes. She caught sight of him watching her, and laid her golden clad head upon his shoulder. He rested his cheek on her temple in response, and they stayed like that until the darkness finally defeated the light.

"I'm going to miss you, you know," Helga finally said. Arnold could feel her warm, wet tears on his shoulder. He took a lock of her blonde hair and gently twirled it between his fingers and she sighed in content.

"You know Helga, I never got to thank you properly for everything you did back in San Lorenzo. You gave me my family back and I'm so grateful to you. I never thought that after all that, I'd lose you too," Arnold's voice cracked as he spoke, and Helga could feel quiet sobs overtaking her. He pulled her into a hug, wrapping his arms around her as they both wept. She looked up, took his face in her hands, and bestowed a tender kiss on his lips. Their hearts did backflips and the contact sent tingles down both their spines. Helga pulled back a little, exhaling raggedly with hooded eyes as their lips left each other. She looked as if she was going to say something but her phone buzzed suddenly in her pocket. She growled as she pulled it out to look at it, and started typing out a message in clear annoyance at the interruption.

"That was Bob. I have to go and help Miriam finish some last minute packing, Football Head. See you tomorrow at the ceremony?" She asked with a hopeful smile. Arnold couldn't help but see a hint of sadness on her face. He wanted to ask her what she had wanted to say, but thought better of it. He didn't want to risk ruining this absolutely perfect moment with his questions.

"Of course, see you at the ceremony," he said and crashed his lips into her once again with more force than the last time. His face was obviously flushed and his green eyes were slightly glazed over with lust as he stared at her. He leaned forward one last time, his cheek pressed into hers. "Y-you uh...you look really beautiful tonight. By the way," he whispered to her in a low voice. Pink spread across her cheeks and her face cracked into a heartfelt smile. She finally backed away from him in a playful manner, locking her eyes with his.

"Flattery won't get you anywhere bucko," she said with a sly smirk. He just laughed as they said their goodbyes and he watched Helga disappear through the hole in his skylight.

Graduation went as expected, with Phoebe giving a powerful speech to the student body about welcoming changes and celebrating new beginnings. Everyone was wearing broad smiles as their names were called one by one, but the joy Helga felt with her classmates was fleeting as they anticipated her departure. Tears were shed after the ceremony finished, and she promised she would keep in touch and visit as much as she could. Phoebe and Helga cried together, sharing hugs repetitively and promising to talk as soon as Helga was in California.

Her and Arnold had managed to sneak off to hug and kiss a few times before Bob finally found her and drove her home. Afterwards, Helga grudgingly helped her parents pack up the moving truck and made sure everything was in order before the long drive ahead. She had a habit of keeping a pink notebook with her whenever possible, to transfer her emotions to paper in the form of poetry. After she put the last of her boxes in the moving truck, she carefully tossed the pink notebook into the back seat. She figured she would need the emotional outlet after the day she had. She noticed the sun was starting to set, and her mind went back to the rooftop of the Sunset Arms boarding house. She touched her fingertips to her mouth and felt the imprint of Arnold's lips on hers from the night before.

Bob and Miriam were doing a final sweep of the house as she sat in the backseat waiting. She felt a buzz in her pocket and she smiled when her eyes read the name of the sender. She bit her lip as she opened the message.

"Look behind you :)"

Helga smiled as she saw a silhouette with a distinct oblong head on a bike behind her. She quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and ran to Arnold as he dismounted.

"What the heck are you doing here, Football Head?" She asked in surprise. Arnold said nothing as he pulled her into a hug and kissed her temple.

"I'd be kicking myself later if I didn't get a chance to say goodbye again," he finally said with a weary chuckle. Helga looked up at him and smiled before scrunching her face and giving him a swift flick on the forehead.

"What were you thinking? Little last minute, don't ya think? I could have been gone by now, idiot!" She replied as water welled up over her bright blue eyes. Arnold rubbed the back of his neck, he felt a sharp pain in his chest as he stared into the blue orbs of sadness fixated on his own.

"S-sorry, I came as fast as I could, I swear! As soon as I got home I scarfed down dinner and rode my bike here as fast as I -," he never finished his sentence as Helga pressed her lips into his. He kissed her back fiercely and pulled her closer, his grip tightened around her waist and he never wanted to let her go. A booming voice quickly interrupted them.

"Hey Olga! Quit kissing that strange boy and get in the car, we're leaving!" Bob yelled. Helga's body tensed as she pulled back, a scowl taking over her face.

"Hold your horses Bob! I'll be there in a second geez!" She yelled back. Arnold looked up at her, tightening his grip around her further as he did.

"Guess this is it then, huh?" He asked, forcing a soft smile.

She cracked an unconvincing smile back before replying, "Seems like it. I'll text you when I get to California, Arnold. I...I-I'm really gonna miss you Shortman." She gave his shoulder a gentle shove.

"I'm going to miss you too Helga, s-so much," he choked on the words, "I'll be waiting for your message, let me know you've made it there safely," he said and they shared one final soft kiss. Helga pulled away from him and he watched her walk back to the car, turning once to wave one last time before getting in. He held up his hand to wave back feebly, and a lump appeared in his throat that made it increasingly hard to breathe as it grew. He watched the car as the lights popped on, and never once averted his gaze until the vehicle disappeared into nothingness.

"I love you, Helga," Arnold quietly confessed to the black cloak of night that had appeared around him.

* * *

The message never came. Arnold faithfully kept his phone by his side at all times, checking it frequently. He was sitting in his room playing video games with Gerald and pulled out his phone. He sighed when he didn't see any new messages and cradled his head on his hand watching his friend blow up characters on the screen. _Helga's probably tired from the move. Maybe she just forgot._ He shot a quick glance to Gerald before typing out a message to her on his phone.

"Hey there, guess who? :) How was the drive?"

He quickly hit send and hastily stuck his phone back in his pocket. He was struggling to keep his focus on the screen, instead sitting on his bed, his leg bouncing in anticipation. His phone buzzed and he quickly grabbed at it in excitement, but his face fell when he realized it was just Sid asking him to come skate with him and Stinky. He sighed heavily, tossing the phone on his bed and throwing himself onto his mattress.

"Man what is going on with you?" Gerald quirked an eyebrow at him, taking notice of his friend's obvious fidgeting and downcasted demeanor. "You still not hear any word from Pataki?" Arnold simply grunted and shook his head in response before finally opening his mouth to speak.

"I just don't get it Gerald. I thought everything was fine. We've been planning on trying to make things work, I don't understand what happened. I don't know what I did," Arnold's sullen words made his friend frown and pinch the bridge of his nose.

Gerald sighed, "Dude we gotta figure out what's going on, it's been almost a week. Lord knows she's been in California for a few days by now. Listen, Phoebe is supposed to go to the beach with her parents today, but you might still be able to catch her if we hurry. Why don't we just go over there and see if she's heard anything?"

It was like a lightbulb went off as Arnold jumped from his bed, slipped on his shoes and ran down the stairs and out the door. He sprinted through the city streets, taking a few turns until he made it to Phoebe's house. He realized he had just left Gerald sitting in his room, but continued his quick footing. _I'll apologize_ _later,_ he thought. He was relieved to see a black-haired girl standing on the front steps, facing the door to lock it.

"Hey Phoebe!" He blurted out somewhat breathlessly as he ran up the steps and the girl jumped in surprise.

"Arnold you startled me! You look a bit disheveled, are you in some sort of hurry? What are you doing here?" she questioned, an eyebrow raised at him in confusion as she turned to him.

Arnold forced a small laugh, still out of breath, "Sorry I didn't mean to scare you," he took a deep breath to steady his words, "I actually wanted to talk to you about Helga. She told me she would text me when they got to California, but it's been a few days since she's been there and I still haven't heard anything. I'm just worried about her, I think she's mad at me." Phoebe frowned at that, Helga never mentioned having any issues with Arnold. She figured they were still on good terms since the move.

She simply cocked her head and said, "Well Arnold to be quite honest I'm as surprised as you are. Helga and I have already talked on the phone several times since she arrived in California. She never gave me any reason to think that the two of you weren't corresponding or that something has upset her." Arnold groaned in frustration and ran his hand through his blonde hair.

"You're sure she never said anything about being mad at me or anything like that?" Arnold asked, his heart sank as Phoebe shook her head at him.

"No I'm certain she never mentioned anything like that. I don't mean to leave the conversation like this, but my parents are waiting for me in the car," she motioned to a brown sedan and two people waved at Arnold from inside. He gave a quick wave before his head fell and he stared at the concrete, sticking his hands in his pockets.

"Well, would you mind talking to her for me Phoebe? Tell her I'm _really_ sorry for whatever I did, and that I just want to speak to her? You're kinda my last hope here," He lifted his head and looked Phoebe in the eyes as he spoke. She made note of the obvious anguish they reflected and nodded in agreement.

"Yes of course Arnold. I'll do my best to speak with her on the matter, but do keep in mind that she may not be willing to tell me anything. Helga is still Helga after all." Phoebe sighed and then cracked a small reassuring smile, "I'll do my best though, I promise. See you later Arnold." She waved and headed down the steps just as Gerald came jogging up to her. He shot Arnold a glare as he pulled Phoebe into a hug, telling her to enjoy the beach and to text him later. They finally unwrapped from their embrace and the boys watched as Phoebe got into the car and drove off with her parents.

Weeks had passed and Arnold still hadn't heard anything from Helga. Phoebe wasn't much help, being Helga's best friend she was privy to her secrets but told him that Helga simply shut down at the mention of his name. Helga never told her if or why she would be upset with him, and that her only response was that she didn't want to talk about it. Arnold wasn't ready to give up yet, still trying to call and text her everyday.

Finally one night, he called her once again at the same time he always did on a whim. He was expecting it to go to voicemail as per usual, but he heard the line click as his call was finally accepted.

"Helga?!" He gasped in astonishment and excitement. His heart rate accelerated slightly knowing that she was on the other line. _Thank god_ , he thought. The voice that came through the phone was not Helga however, and his heart sank to his stomach when it spoke to him.

"No this is Big Bob Pataki! And who the hell is this? Why are you harassing my daughter?" Bob's voice bellowed over the phone, and Arnold's eyebrows furrowed in frustration. Big Bob wasn't his favorite person in the world, and he had put the fear of God into Arnold a few times prior.

"S-sir, this is Arnold. Helga's boyfriend from Hillwood, can you put her on the phone?" he asked with as much conviction as his voice would allow.

"Boyfriend? Olga doesn't have a boyfriend! Look kid, my daughter doesn't want to talk to you," Bob yelled in response, Arnold could hear a small voice say something in the background.

"I-I don't believe you. Is that Helga? Please, _please_ sir, just let me talk to her," he pleaded in a low voice.

"Oh for crying out - Helga! The kid wants to talk to you," Bob said and Arnold could hear her protesting in the background for a bit until her voice finally reached the receiver.

"What do you want, Arnold?" Her voice was cold, and Arnold's mouth was left slightly agape at the unfeeling emotion behind her question.

"Wh-what do you mean? Helga, why won't you talk to me? Is he making you do this, is your dad not letting you take my calls?" he felt a lump forming in his throat that he tried his best to swallow down as he questioned her. Callous laughter rang in his ear in response.

"My old man's not making me do anything. Look Arnold, just forget about me okay? I don't want to hear from you. So stop calling me, stop texting me, stop thinking about me and _lose my number_ ," the coldness in her voice was seething and Arnold could feel his heart breaking as she hurled the words at him.

"Helga. Please. _Please_ , why are you doing this? Why won't you talk to me?" Arnold softly begged as he fought back the tears in his eyes. He gripped the top of his head, feeling dizzy from the confusion and heartbreak over taking him. The icy breath at the other end of the line's words fired back like sharp knives into his heart.

"Don't call me anymore," filled his ear followed by a soft click. He looked at his phone and "Call ended" met his mossy colored eyes. His heart sank to the floor as bursts of sobs came out of him and he threw his phone on the nightstand. After several minutes, he hissed and picked up his phone again. He hiccuped a few times and his eyes were clouded with sorrow as he pulled up his contacts. He scrolled slowly and allowed his thumb to linger over Helga's name for a moment before finally pressing delete. He fell onto his bed, pulling his blanket around him snugly, and cried himself to sleep.

* * *

Helga's azure eyes analyzed the green Packard in front of them. _There's no fucking way,_ she thought as she carefully watched the car follow the curves of the wet road leading into the city. She finally sat down in her seat with a heavy sigh, crossing her legs over the cool, black leather next to her. Even if it wasn't Arnold in the car ahead, she knew a confrontation was inevitable at some point anyway. She had been playing it out in her head for a while now and absolutely dreading it since the news broke that they were moving back home.

Bob and Miriam were just as miserable as Helga in California. Bob quickly realized that having a partner was a shit gig and took it out on Helga and Miriam with fervor. Miriam was drinking more than ever before in response to his hate-filled words, not even bothering to conceal the liquor in her "smoothies" any more. Bob wasn't used to so many parameters and didn't enjoy having to seek permission for his business decisions. Of course at a certain point he realized it was too late, Big Bob's Beeper Emporium was really gone. He sold his shares of Elexus, not wanting to answer to anyone anymore, and told the family they were going back to Hillwood. An old buddy of his back home was retiring and selling his furniture store. Bob was offered the opportunity to run his own business again, and he quickly jumped on it without any protest from Helga or Miriam. He found them a decent sized home in the city, and Helga was able to enroll in school just a week later than her classmates.

Helga had been sick with worry in the months leading up to the move. She was relieved to be leaving California, she hated the constant sticky heat and overbearing sun. Plus the events that preceded the moving announcement left her more than ready to get out of there. The people there were amoral and superficial, and after several confrontations with her classmates, she was deemed an outcast once again. She never stopped longing for the rainy weather and contentment of her former home. She missed her friends and the comforts the town she grew up in afforded her. Phoebe and Rhonda were of course ecstatic when she told them the news, and she made Rhonda fucking swear she wouldn't say a word to any of their classmates about her return. Helga promised a fist in her face if she dared utter a breath about it to anyone. Phoebe assured her that Rhonda had kept her word, and no one had any knowledge of Helga's homecoming.

She thought back to the night she left Hillwood, and the countless tears she silently cried in the backseat of Bob's car as they ventured towards her new life in California. Helga had loved Arnold, she had loved everything about him. His green eyes and fair hair, his dopey lopsided smile, his gentle laughter, his good-hearted nature and selflessness. He was perfect, and Helga wasn't. She couldn't handle knowing someone like that was pining over her and longing to be with her. She didn't deserve that kind of pure and wholesome love. He needed someone better, someone who could match his unbridled kindness and lust for life. Someone beautiful and smart and sweet. Arnold's heart was too great to be trapped with her in California. So she did what she did best, pushed him away and used harsh words to elicit feelings of loathing with the hope that he could give himself to someone worthy. Following the last phone call Helga had had with the blonde boy, she and Phoebe made a pact to never speak of him again.

She thought about the hundreds of times she composed text messages and deleted them. Or pressed his name on her phone but never daring to hit the call button. She filled several notebooks with poems about him, even now at the age of sixteen he was her muse and her inspiration and he meant the world to her. Her heart still bore the scars of their breakup and she was terrified to see him, even five years after she broke both of their hearts.

Helga snapped back to reality when a text message buzzed in her pocket. She had stopped fully anticipating seeing any messages from Arnold at this point, though she always held onto that shred of hope every time her phone lit up. The text on the screen however, belonged to none other than her best friend Phoebe Heyerdahl.

"Hello Helga, I trust you'll be arriving soon! Text me when you've safely reached your destination and we'll make plans for the week."

Helga smiled as she read. _What a nut bar. She probably calculated the travel time and everything_ , she thought as she typed her reply.

"Hey Pheebs. We are basically here. I gotta help do some unpacking and then hit the hay. Bob's slow ass driving is putting me to sleep. I'll text ya tomorrow."

She hit send and almost immediately received a message back.

"Very well, get some rest. I look forward to hearing from you tomorrow. It's good to have you home Helga!"

Helga slipped her phone into her pocket, she looked out the car window and saw they had finally made it into the city. She allowed her eyes to once more tentatively graze the front windshield. The green Packard was no longer in sight and she sighed in relief as she closed her eyes. _You're gonna have a lot of explaining to do, Helga ol' girl._


	2. We're Not Kids Anymore

**Hello all! I hope you enjoyed the prologue and are looking forward to the first chapter! I don't foresee this one being** _**quite** _ **as long but I hope you enjoy it all the same. Expect a lot of character development over the next couple chapters, hopefully it doesn't come across as too droll. We will start getting into some M-rated content as well. Dark Arnold will start making an appearance in this chapter, something to be mindful of, and is pretty Arnold heavy in general. Lots of dialogue in this one. Not sure what else to say! All cast and characters of Hey Arnold! belong to creator Craig Bartlett.**

**Chapter one: We're not kids anymore**

Helga gently stirred as her mother placed a gentle hand on her shoulder from the front seat. "Wake up Helga dear, we're here," she heard Miriam's tired voice call to her from the front seat. Helga tensed into a stretch, unbuckled her seatbelt and groaned as her combat boots hit the asphalt. Night time had enveloped their new home in darkness, obscuring its facade, but the building appeared to be a two-story brownstone, and was nestled in between structures of similar architecture.

"Finally. I can't feel my ass after that drive," she muttered as a large yawn took her over, her sleepy blue eyes half-lidded in exhaustion from the monotony of her travel.

"Here we are girls, home sweet home," Bob Pataki declared, lazily stretching his arms out in front of him before scratching the back of his head in exhaustion.

Helga was thankful her father had hired movers for once to haul their furniture across state lines. She was already exhausted as it was, and she was grateful that she only had some minor unpacking ahead of her. As he unlocked the door and turned on the lights, Helga felt a chill hit her bare legs.

"Cripes Bob it's f-freezing in here!" She held her arms tight to her chest as she shivered in the cold air. Her father ignored her complaints as he walked around to inspect every room in the house, checking to make sure the light switches were in working order. Miriam made her way to the thermostat by the staircase in the front entry and flipped it up. Helga immediately could feel some relief as the warm air circulated out of the vents.

She investigated the front room, it was a simple entryway, almost a split level as stairs to the right provided access to the second floor. She could see a large flat screen in a room off to the left in what she assumed was the living room. She walked through the living room and from there was a connected dining room and open kitchen. As she meandered through the kitchen she made note of the granite countertops and large chef's pantry. A hallway extended from the right-hand side of the kitchen where a main floor bathroom and a laundry room were located. Most of the house was painted a steely gray in color, save for the downstairs bathroom that was the lightest shade of buttercup yellow. _Damn he actually did pretty good._

The hallway circled back to the front entry and she caught sight of Bob marching up the stairs as he spoke. "Alright girl, your room is down this hallway, first door on the right. Bathroom's across the hall. I'm getting me some sleep after that god forsaken drive and I suggest you do the same. Movers should have already got the furniture all set up," he motioned down a hallway to the right as he peaked the staircase. Bob and Miriam retired into their bedroom on the second floor and Helga willed her slender legs to make the journey up to her room.

Her room was fairly simple, a decent size but not too big. Her walls were painted a very light shade of cotton candy pink, and she saw several boxes of her belongings stacked in various parts of the room. Bob had finally caved and bought her a queen sized bed for her new room, and she threw herself down on the naked mattress with glee before digging through boxes to find her clothing and bedding.

She happily looked up to see her TV sitting on a table in front of her closet near the foot of her bed and her bookshelf placed against the wall to the right. She had donated her old dresser when Bob told her that the closet in her room had built-in drawers. She opened up the sliding doors and admired the much larger closet her new bedroom offered. _Welp not gonna be building any shrines in here with this honking dresser, that's for sure_ , she thought as she silently chuckled. Once her sheets and blankets were in place on her bed and she had changed into an black oversized Sex Pistols t-shirt, she felt a bit of a second wind and started going through the contents of her boxes.

She placed her rolled up posters around the perimeter of her room, flattening them with large books. She pulled her video game consoles out, stacking them under the table her flat screen was housed on, before placing books and movies on her bookshelf. She felt like giving herself a pat on the back for folding all of her clothes before having stowed them away in the cardboard boxes. She hung some of her more important garments from the dowel in the closet before organizing her dresser drawers. She had a few decorations she left packed away, a tapestry and some knick knacks that could wait till morning. She was pleased with how much she was able to accomplish in the couple hours she had been home.

Helga had emptied most of the boxes by now, but reached into the last one, pulling out a small wooden chest. She had had it since before they left Hillwood and it had earned some dings from the couple of moves and her unpredictable temperament over the years. She sat on her bed and opened it, finding several small trinkets and some papers. One piece of paper in particular caught her attention. The assembly of it was familiar, it was folded the way they typically were back in the days of note-passing at P.S. 118. Her fingers picked it up and she looked at it curiously before carefully opening and reading the small scrawled blue ink on the page in her hand.

"Hey Helga

Sounds like you had fun at Rhonda's sleepover. I'm glad. I wanted to let you know your hair looks really pretty today, did you do something different? Course you always look beautiful to me. :)

Xoxo

Arnold"

Helga's eyes were wide at the sight of the note. She read it ten or twelve more times before finally stopping to make sure her heart was still operating properly. She had to keep telling herself to breathe or blink as the shock had made these simple functions feel like complicated drudgery. A slight ringing echoed in her ears and she felt a tight knot gripping the beating organ in her chest. _What. The. Fuck. First the Packard and now this lame note?! This is too damn weird._

She flew off the bed, grabbing her phone fiercely to look at the time. _10:27, please still be awake Pheebs!_ she thought as she tapped the name and sat through the trilling ring of the phone line. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon! Answer your fucking phone Phoebe," she begged out loud until a small voice answered from the other line.

"Oh hi Helga! I didn't expect to hear from you until tomorrow and certainly not at this hour. What's goi -," Phoebe was interrupted by Helga's panicked voice.

"Yeah, yeah sorry to call so late Pheebs yadda-yadda-yadda... _Listen_ , remember that thing from five years ago? That we promised not to ever talk about again?" Helga was pacing restlessly around her room, her wavy blonde hair trailing behind her wildly.

"Um, well certainly Helga. Am I correct to assume you are speaking of _ice cream_?" Phoebe replied, her voice lowering as she uttered the last words. "Ice cream" was merely a code word she and Helga invented and had used over the years to refer to the blonde-haired, wide-headed boy Helga had been infatuated with since pre-school.

"Yes Phoebe, _ice cream_ ," she hissed. "I found a note from back in sixth grade from him and I swear to fucking god I saw him driving around earlier. I know it all sounds crazy, okay? I know what I said five years ago but Pheebs we need to break the pact. I want you to tell me about ice cream," Helga finished. Phoebe paused for a moment before sighing heavily and clearing her throat.

"Alright very well Helga, if you're sure," she replied, "but I think you should sit down first."

* * *

"Arnold...changed a lot, Helga. After you left. It wasn't so noticeable at first. We knew you guys were no longer speaking, so Gerald and I had figured he was simply experiencing some sadness following the breakup," Phoebe generally spoke very matter-of-factly, and Helga immediately detected the hesitation in her friend's voice. She felt a small wave of nervousness wash over her.

"What exactly do you mean by 'changed', Pheebs? What does that mean?" Helga tried to keep her voice as normal as possible as she questioned her.

"Truthfully...we really didn't notice much of a difference to be quite honest. He was still present for neighborhood baseball games and weekend ventures to Dino Land. Except that, as I said, he was uncharacteristically morose. Once fall semester began, he really started struggling with his studies. He appeared very distracted during classes, almost out of touch," she explained. Helga couldn't help but snicker softly at Phoebe's last statement.

"Football Head's always had his head in the clouds. That's nothing new."

"Well you certainly have a point, but his grades started slipping as a result. Things gradually got worse and about halfway through the year he was chronically tardy for class. There were several days he didn't bother showing up at all," Helga frowned at that and a slight felt heat rising to her face, she felt like arguing with her friend but wasn't sure why.

"Well so what? Not like he hasn't played hooky before."

"Sure, but he was also being frequently reprimanded and regularly earning himself detention. His homework wasn't being completed and he wasn't participating in classes," Phoebe explained.

" _So_?"

"So...it was very out of character. In the past Arnold had always held decent grades and made school a priority. Gerald's concerns were only exacerbated when Arnold was absent for two weeks during spring semester," Phoebe paused expecting a response, but when Helga didn't break the momentary silence she continued.

"Our teacher requested that Gerald go over our lessons with Arnold and deliver his schoolwork. When Gerald went there after school, Arnold's grandfather explained that he wasn't feeling well and was hopeful that Gerald's presence would cheer him up. He said he had a bad feeling about it and when he entered his bedroom, Arnold was sobbing and laying in bed in the dark. Gerald tried his best to console him but Arnold barely acknowledged that he was even there," Helga didn't like where this was going and could feel the heat in her face increasing as Phoebe spoke.

"Okay so the kid hit a rough patch. Big deal."

"A rough patch in a sense, yes. Gerald went back several days after school and said Arnold never moved from that spot and was still refusing to acknowledge him. Phil told him that he stopped coming down for dinner and Gerald said that was it, he'd had enough. He said he pulled him out of bed and told him to...ahem - _get his shit together_. He explained that he was worrying his family and friends to death, and that his focus needed to be on school. He said that you weren't ever coming back and that it was time to get over it," Phoebe seemed uncomfortable explaining these events, feeling the air grow tense.

"Well did it work?"

"I'm not sure what you mean, Helga."

"I _mean_ , did it work? Did he get his shit together?"

"Surprisingly, yes. Gerald's words seemed to have resonated with him. For a while, anyway," Phoebe adjusted her glasses before beginning again. "The rest of the school year played out fairly normally and Arnold appeared to be back to his old self. He brought his grades back up and even started dating a bit," she felt herself wince a bit at her own words.

"Well good. Great. Good for him. So who was the lucky gal? Actually, wait no. Let me guess. _Lila Sawyer_ ," Helga's eye roll was almost audible and she spoke the girl's name with a venomous sing-song.

"Er, that's correct. Lila Sawyer.

"So he gets the girl and they ride off into the fucking sunset. Gotcha."

"N-no not quite. They started dating at the beginning of our eighth grade year, but their relationship was tumultuous to say the least. Arnold sort of fell back into his slump, and was suddenly spending a lot of time with Sid, Harold and Stinky. She was upset because he wasn't dedicating enough time to the relationship and had taken up partying. She apparently had had enough after one night in particular. She told Rhonda she spoke to him over the phone and that he was extremely inebriated and wouldn't stop crying, he was inconsolable. She wasn't strong enough to navigate those hardships and the next day they agreed to break things off," there was something Phoebe has said that didn't go unnoticed by Helga.

"Why was he crying?"

"Helga I'm not really sure if tha -" but Helga cut her off.

"Just answer the damn question Phoebe," she demanded through gritted teeth.

"He was crying because of you, Helga. Lila said he just kept screaming your name over and over."

"Wait are you fucking serious? W-why would he do that?"

"Because his heart was still broken," Phoebe answered firmly. "He never got over you. He tried to masquerade his feelings for a while and did the things he thought he had to do to move on but he couldn't. These realizations were likely only expressed because he was blacked out."

Helga was overheating at that point, and she felt something in her brain snap. "What an absolute loser. I mean, how _pathetic_. Like, honestly get over it, it was five years ago. Who cares? I know I sure as hell don't. I mean why _would_ I? Don't get me wrong, I always knew he was a bumbling fucking idiot but I didn't realize he was a pussy on top of it."

Helga was absolutely seething into the phone, but Phoebe could read her like a book. She knew that it wasn't rage that Helga was expressing just then.

"You shouldn't let yourself be overcome by guilt, Helga."

" _Guilt_? Oh that's _rich._ I don't feel guilty. What do I have to feel guilty about?"

"Perhaps you regret the ways things ended. Maybe you blame yourself for Arnold's emotional hardships," Phoebe tried to respond as directly as possible without it coming across like she was pointing the finger at her. Phoebe knew how much regret and heartbreak Helga had been harboring over the years. Even if the emotions weren't always expressed verbally, she could read between the lines well enough to know.

"Listen here Phoebe, I don't regret a damn thing. You got that? Now can you hurry and wrap this up? I-I'm getting really tired, okay?" Helga's voice softened as she felt the tears building up in her eyes. An uncomfortable weight was pushing down on her chest that was challenging her breathing.

"Hurrying! Honestly Helga things have only progressed and not in a good way. Last year he was once again racking up unexcused absences, and even got suspended for drinking on school property. When he isn't with Gerald he's at the skate park or party hopping with Sid, Stinky and Harold," Phoebe waited for more of Helga's fiery quips but they never came.

"What's he really like now, Pheebs? Like his personality," her voice was low and there was unmistakable sadness woven into the words.

"The same but...different I suppose. He's been in a dark place for the last few years, Helga. A lot of what made him Arnold has vanished. Where he used to go out of his way to help people, now he isolates himself. His bright and positive attitude has become dark and morose. He even quit the baseball team over the summer. He appears to use partying as a means to numb himself. I can only hope that since he has started seeing Dr. Bliss he can learn to cope with his feelings."

"Arnold's been seeing a _shrink_?! Criminy I never knew things would have gotten this bad." Helga replied softly and felt the tears leaking from her bright blue eyes. She felt like the whole world had come crashing down around her. She imagined Arnold, who always looked on the bright side, who always sought a silver lining, suddenly shut in his room being crushed by the crippling effects of depression.

"What about his parents?" She choked out quietly.

Phoebe hesitated for a bit before answering, "Gerald said right around the time Arnold started dating Lila in eighth grade, they decided to seek psychiatric care. They were great for a while when they came back, but I assume once the adrenaline of surviving the jungles of San Lorenzo and the sleeping sickness wore off, they needed a lot of help. Their experience traumatized them. So while yes, Arnold has his parents back -"

"It's like they've left him all over again," Helga finished almost breathlessly and Phoebe quietly mumbled an affirmation.

_So it wasn't just me_ , she thought, _well that's a fucking relief._

* * *

Helga and Phoebe talked for a while longer. The conversation had thankfully turned more light-hearted, as everyone else had pretty much been doing exactly as Helga expected.

Rhonda and Nadine were as popular as ever, staying on top of trends, pining over boys and seeking homecoming royalty nominations. Sheena and Eugene had been participating in the school's theater program, though Eugene was currently on hiatus due to a broken toe that occured during a tap dance routine. Gerald and Phoebe's relationship was going as strong as ever. She was in charge of the school's robotics program and he had earned himself the quarterback position on the JV football team. Lila had transferred schools last year, much to Helga's relief, when her father was offered a job in a smaller town that afforded them a better quality of life, and had even remarried. Sid, Stinky and Harold despite their inclinations to get into trouble, were all doing fairly well in school and even started a band together.

They discussed their plans for the weekend and decided they would meet at Slausen's for ice cream the next following day.

"Alright you sure you're good to meet me here? One o'clock gonna work for ya?" Helga asked as she pulled her blanket over her and settled into bed. Her and Phoebe decided it was probably for the best if they met her at her house. Her five year absence had rendered her useless at trying to navigate the streets of Hillwood now.

"Yes Helga, that shouldn't be a problem. Oh it's just been so long I'm awfully excited to see you again," Phoebe squealed, "Sleep well and I'll be sure to contact you in the morning."

"Me too Pheebs. See you tomorrow," Helga answered and hung up the phone. She thought about the conversation she just had with Phoebe but tried to shift her mind into looking forward to their plans the next day. She rolled onto her back and tucked her hands under her head, lacing her fingers together. She stayed like that for a bit until her eyelids slowly shut and she fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Arnold Shortman awoke that Saturday morning believing it was average as any other. He saw a few text messages from Gerald and Sid, inquiring about his plans for the day. He laid in bed for a bit, trying to make heads or tails of a familiar dream he had. In his dream there was a pink blur he was trying his damnedest to catch but it kept eluding his hands. He didn't know what that meant or why the blur seemed important but something in his mind told him it was. The dream had been recurring for a while but he was no closer to making any sense of it. He grabbed his remote to turn on the Cure while he laid in bed, his head throbbing. He finally texted his friends back, telling them they were welcome to come over to discuss their plans for the afternoon. He didn't really want to see anyone, he would have preferred laying around in his room, but his therapist had been telling him to challenge himself the days that he felt like isolating himself.

He finally swung the blanket off of him, turned off his music and decided to get ready for the day. He grabbed a black pair of jeans, some boxer shorts and a red flannel, slipping off the clothes he had slept in. He wrapped a towel around him and made his way down the stairs into the hallway. He patiently stood outside the bathroom door of the boarding house, awaiting his turn to shower. Based on the melodious baritone drawl coming from the other side of the door, Mr. Hyun was the resident currently occupying the lavatory. No sooner had Arnold started standing there that the door swung open and warm, heavy steam met his face. Mr. Hyun nodded at him in acknowledgement as he made his way to his room down the hall, never missing a beat of whatever nameless song was coming from his mouth.

Arnold entered, locked the door and laid his clothes out on the floor before turning on the shower, using his hand to test the temperature then stepping inside. He had a splitting headache, granted to him from the libations he enjoyed the night before, and pressed his hands to the tile to steady himself as the hot water rushed over him. He quickly shampooed and rinsed his hair, not really caring how clean he got. He took his body wash and was hastily working the suds over his chest and back.

His mind kept trying to recall the dream he had, but his hangover conquered and he groaned in exhaustion. He recalled the bonfire he was at with Sid and Stinky the night before. There was a blonde there with a pixie cut that Arnold felt an immediate attraction to, though he knew that was probably the alcohol talking. He could feel his member in between his legs twitch as the thought of the girl wearing a low cut black shirt that was cropped and fashionably ripped. He saw the light of the flames licking the exposed parts of her breasts, while the rest of her caught in a flattering orange glow. They had barely even spoken a few words to each other, but Arnold didn't need much to pave the foundation of his fantasy.

His hand fell and he started stroking himself slowly, remembering her ample breasts and pouty lips. He always liked blondes ever since _her_ and the one he met at the party bore a striking resemblance. He thought of the tight leather pants she was wearing that perfectly accented her perky ass, and how her legs seemingly went on forever. He would have loved the feeling of them wrapped around his waist, if only he didn't get so hammered. The girl had been rather shapely, and Arnold appreciated women with certain generous assets. He remembered at one point his eyes caught sight of her spilling cleavage and he moaned as he gripped himself with more fervor. He worked his hand in longer and faster strokes, recalling her bare stomach and naval piercing. _Fuck you're so beautiful_ , he thought and imagined his lips crashing into hers. He thought about his hands tenderly caressing the sides of her abdomen, slowly working upwards, pulling her shirt off of her. His mind imagined her in a black lace brassiere, his hands gently squeezing her large breasts and his tongue battling hers. He squeezed himself tighter and worked his arm faster, feeling a tingling sensation building up from his groin. His mind made the bra come off, and he could see the creaminess of her bare skin and sensuous breasts. He felt his mouth around her pink nipples, and his tongue meeting the erect nub in the middle as he gave into his senses. His moans turned into a gasp as he climaxed and the warm white liquid swirled down the shower drain.

Arnold let himself rinse off for a bit before turning off the water and stepping out of the shower. He dressed himself, brushed his teeth and sat himself in the dining room. His grandmother had prepared a breakfast of eggs and bacon for him and he sat in anticipation as he smelled the freshly cooked breakfast food swirling from the kitchen as she prepared his plate. The other boarders were absent, being that it was after 11:00 a.m. they had probably finished breakfast hours ago. His parents were now missing from mealtimes as they had decided to fully check themselves into psychiatric care a few weeks before school started. His eyes drifted over to their usual seats and he couldn't help but feel sadness overtake him at their absence. He felt stupid to have believed that he could live his life out in normalcy, and that the people he loved the most might finally stop leaving him. The voice of his grandmother suddenly came from behind him, interrupting his thoughts and making him jump.

"Chow time, Kimba!" She exclaimed as a plate suddenly appeared before him.

"Thanks for breakfast grandma. You really didn't have to wait around for me to get up," he cast her an appreciative smile and started digging in.

"Nonsense! You're a growing boy, and frankly you could use all the help you can get!" She laughed wildly and stepped back into the kitchen. He could hear the shifting of cutlery and glass as she washed up the dishes and cookware. Arnold simply shook his head to himself and started eating.

"Well hey there Short man, glad you decided to join the realm of the living," he heard his grandpa Phil say. Arnold turned and saw him coming down the stairs in approach. "How'd ya sleep Arnold? Still having those strange dreams?"

"Hey grandpa. And yeah I can't seem to figure them out. They always start the same, I'm standing on the roof of the boarding house and the sun is setting. Soon there's this pink blur flying around me, almost _taunting_ me like it wants me to follow it. But every time I try to catch it it just flies away, so I try to chase it. What could that mean grandpa?" Arnold asked. He had been having the same dream almost every night for the last couple of months. No matter how many times he dreamt it, he never could catch the fleeting pink blur that he pursued. His grandfather was now standing next to him, and he scratched his chin in thought.

"Well dreams are a strange thing Short man. It's the unconscious mind desperately trying to communicate with the conscious one. If I had to guess though, it's probably Pookie's cooking. Always screws me up one way or another!" His stomach started gurgling as if on cue, "Speaking of which, duty calls!" His grandfather straightened up and hastily marched back up the stairs towards the bathroom.

Arnold chuckled to himself, pondering his grandfather's words and brought his empty plate to the kitchen. His grandmother was drying dishes and gave him a wink and a smile as he left the room. It was 11:30 now, and Gerald and Sid were set to meet up with him in a half hour. All of a sudden he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. It was Gerald.

"Hey man just leaving the house. I was thinking maybe we hit the skate park with Sid for a bit. I told him to meet us there. Cool if we take off a little early?"

"Yeah, skate sounds good. I'll get my board. What's your ETA?"

"Idk 10 min?"

"That works, see ya in a few."

Arnold called a thank you out to his grandmother before making his way back up the stairs to his room. He grabbed his board out of the closet and set it on ground next to him while he scrolled on his phone for a bit. He sighed after a while before setting the cellphone down next to him, unable to distract himself from his thoughts. There was a part of him that really just wanted to cancel so he could go back to sleep, but with his parents gone he felt the attention of his grandparents shifting back on him. He had already disappointed them enough over the last couple of years, the least he could do was get out of bed in the morning. He felt even lonelier than he had before now that his parents were on some ranch doing shit like group therapy together. The loneliness was insufferable, but being around people was almost worse yet. He heard a quick rapping on his door, pulling his attention from his thoughts.

"Come in!"

"What's up my man?" Gerald greeted. They grabbed each other's fists, wiggling their thumbs in a handshake that was characteristic of their long friendship. "Ready to hit the pavement?"

Arnold simply nodded and grabbed his phone and skateboard. They descended down the stairs, Arnold calling out a goodbye as they did. He could feel Gerald's eyes on him as they walked, he could feel himself growing annoyed.

"What Gerald?"

"I was just thinking you looking a little rough today. You go out last night?" Gerald asked with an eyebrow quirked. Arnold didn't enjoy these conversations and really wasn't in the mood for a lecture.

"Yes I went out with Sid and Stinky. I didn't even drink that much, I just got home kinda late so I'm tired," Arnold was hoping his friend would drop it, but much to his dismay Gerald didn't waver.

"Huh, that's not what I heard."

"Well what exactly did you hear, Gerald?"

"That you got shit faced and Stinky had to drive you back to town in your granddad's car and carry your ass to bed," he answered, a little mockingly and Arnold didn't appreciate the tone.

"Okay so if you knew then why did you ask?" Arnold shot Gerald a look and he held his hands up in surrender.

"Just trying to get the story man. I think you should start reining it in though, now that school's started."

"Gerald look, I really don't want to fight. But it's none of your business. I'm fine and there's nothing to worry about," Arnold felt redness spread across his face. Gerald wasn't usually someone he found himself getting upset with, but he was already in a bad mood because of his hangover. Gerald just shook his head, he clearly wasn't in the mood for a fight either.

"Look I'm not gonna sit here and argue with you, Arnold. But just think about what I said."

Arnold couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed getting called out like that, and the heat on his face remained for a few minutes as they walked. He liked drinking, it made things feel a lot less complicated. He didn't have to think about the shitty things going on in his life. He actually felt some semblance of happiness when he was drunk, even though realistically it was sort of a gamble. Recently, some of the worst, most unbearable thoughts he had had greeted him whilst drinking. Worse yet, he was only aware of most of his drunken episodes of hysterical crying and panic attacks because his friends made sure to relay the information to him the next day.

Arnold and Gerald were approaching the skate park when they heard a familiar voice calling out to them. He saw Sid's face and waved in response before hopping on his board and gliding towards his friend.

* * *

Helga was double checking herself in the bathroom mirror awaiting Phoebe's arrival. She decided to take advantage of the sunshine, knowing the Indian summer clinging to the September days would soon be over. She was wearing a black denim jacket over a light pink floral dress. The front was cut short with ruffles that cascaded to the long, trailing hemline in the back. The neckline plunged into a deep v, showcasing her large breasts. She had curled some loose waves into her waist length blonde hair, and paired her black combat boots with her outfit. She had awoken fairly early that day, and decided to add a touch of mascara and a dark pink lip gloss to her ensemble.

Her phone buzzed signalling Phoebe's arrival and she slung a small studded black leather backpack over her shoulders. She called out to Miriam who had found her usual place on the couch with a bottle of whiskey, and opened the front door. She saw Phoebe and instantly the two girls wrapped each other in a giant hug.

"Helga it's so wonderful to see you! My, what a lovely outfit you're wearing today!" Phoebe said as she pulled back from their hug, her eyes lighting up at the sight of Helga's dress. It was familiar but different, more feminine and mature.

Helga smiled, "It's great to see you too Pheebs. Killer earrings by the way," she motioned to the silver hoop earrings Phoebe had dangling from her ears. She was wearing a cobalt blue t-shirt dress that hung in a way that complimented her small stature and slim frame, along with brushed suede ankle boots with a kitten heel. The look was completed with the addition of her signature turquoise cat-eye glasses. Phoebe beamed at the complement. They started walking down the street, discussing what classes they were taking and which subjects they were most looking forward to. They joked and laughed and Helga was so unbelievably enlivened being in the presence of her lifelong friend in a way she hadn't been for a long time. Helga could feel some sense of recognition as they walked down the street towards the ice cream shop that only added to her elation.

"I'm finally fucking home Pheebs!" She exclaimed loudly, twirling on the sidewalk earning some strange looks from passersby. Her small friend simply laughed at the spectacle.

After a few blocks they found themselves outside of Slausen's, Phoebe held the door open and Helga gawked at the interior.

"Cripes this place hasn't changed a bit! I wonder if my name is still carved under our old booth?"

"I can confirm that it is in fact still there Helga. With a few additions, I might add! Seems you started something of a trend," Phoebe giggled a bit as Helga looked down at her, an arrogant crooked smile spreading over her face.

"Yeah yeah wouldn't be the first time. Wanna go grab the booth? I'm buying. You still like that green tea flavored stuff?"

Phoebe nodded and took a seat at their old booth, and soon Helga joined her with two large ice cream cones. Helga peered under the table and saw her name still there, along with several other names now floating around it. There was a certain set of initials that caught her eye. The letters A.P.S. were etched into the wood and she touched a finger to them. _I wonder,_ she started thinking, but jolted upright as Phoebe received a text message. Helga saw the look on Phoebe's face and the corners of her mouth went up into a smirk.

"Old Geraldo sending you his love?" Helga asked and wiggled her eyebrows at her friend, enjoying her chocolate ice cream. A light blush overcame Phoebe's face before she answered.

"Y-yes he was just leaving the skate park. He wanted to stop over and say hi. Is that something that you're comfortable with, Helga?" Phoebe bit her bottom lip while Helga frowned a bit. She thought for a second and realized she may be acting a bit irrational. _I guess it's just Gerald,_ she thought, noting Phoebe's obvious inclination to see her boyfriend, _it's not like he's going to run off and tell Arnold where I'm at, right?_

"He's not with Hair Boy, is he?"

"Currently yes, but they're just leaving the skate park. Trust me, he won't be coming here."

Helga all of a sudden felt very awkward in her own skin. _God what is wrong with me, get it together ol' girl._ Before Helga could give a yes or no, she heard the bell of the door ring and she whipped her head to look behind her. A tall boy with a small afro and a dark complexion entered the ice cream shop holding a skateboard and Helga felt herself sink down into her seat. She quickly averted her gaze, trying to make herself as small as possible. The boy's voice called from the door and he approached the table to sit next to Phoebe.

"Hey baby! Oh I didn't realize you were with a friend. My name's Gerald, it's nice to meet y - _Helga G. Pataki_?!" He asked incredulously. His jaw dropped as he awkwardly let fall the hand he held out for her to shake. Helga offered a small tentative wave and felt her cheeks flushing. The tensity of the encounter was making her heart beat uncomfortably and she tried to avoid eye contact at first. Gerald however didn't take his eyes off her, examining her like some sort of alien dropped to Earth. She felt a small kick under the table, her eyes went to Phoebe who just nodded her head towards Gerald, signaling Helga to say something.

"Uh h-hey there Tail Hair Boy. Long time no see, huh?" She chuckled awkwardly as Gerald's eyes slightly narrowed.

"Pataki, just what the hell are you doing here? It's been what, five years since we've seen your ass?"

Helga swallowed before answering, "Surprise," she muttered with a noticeable lack of enthusiasm, "I'm back Geraldo." Gerald raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"You're back?" He asked and Helga simply nodded. "Like _back_ back? What, are you living here now or something?" Helga sighed.

"Yes Geraldo, _back back._ I start school on Monday. Why, is there a problem?" Helga didn't appreciate the not-so-warm welcome and found herself getting a little annoyed. She felt relieved when Gerald simply shook his head and chuckled.

"Course not, but damn girl I didn't see that coming. Phoebe, you know about this?"

Phoebe smiled and gave a small nod. Gerald laughed again before looking back at Helga.

"So what, you trying to keep it a secret or something? Isn't everyone going to find out Monday anyway?"

Helga sighed, "Yes _Geraldo_ I guess you have a point. There's just...some people I don't wanna see," she shot him a glance and Gerald immediately frowned.

"Well if you're talking about who I think you're talking about, he won't be so keen on seeing you either. Wait, is this why Rhonda's having that party tonight?" Gerald suddenly turned toward Phoebe, and her face immediately flashed scarlet. Helga whipped her head at Phoebe, her eyes were daggers.

"Party? What _party?_ Pheebs what the fuck?" Helga's mouth was agape, she could feel her hands trembling as anger started to take her over. Phoebe had planned for this in a sense. She was intending to surprise Helga that night by taking her to Rhonda's without disclosing the party. While she respected Helga's wish to keep everyone in the dark leading up to her moving there, she knew in the long run this would only positively affect her return to school. She knew Helga would have been much more uncomfortable being swarmed between classes or at lunch. The party would afford everyone the chance to reconvene, but with the added benefit of alcohol. Of course she knew there was a chance that Helga could find out, and her words were carefully crafted for such an event.

"Yes Helga, Rhonda is having a party tonight. But you weren't technically invited. She's simply throwing a party to kick off the school year, for classmates you haven't actually joined yet. Of course, you're more than welcome to attend, now that the cat's out of the bag," she shot Gerald a glare and Helga cocked her head, the anger dissipating.

"Not invited? Who the hell does she think she is?" Helga muttered. Gerald caught a very small and impish smile on Phoebe's face.

"I'm sure if you wanted to attend, Rhonda wouldn't have a problem with it. She was probably being courteous in withholding an invitation seeing as how you've only just arrived yesterday," Phoebe knew she had her with that, implying that Rhonda Lloyd had somehow grown to care about the feelings of others was bait she knew that Helga would snatch up.

"Oh _come on_ Phoebe, like Rhonda gives a rats ass. She probably didn't invite me just to piss me off! Well it worked, so what time are we going?" Gerald's eyes widened, he couldn't believe how easily Helga fell for that. He was impressed with how seemingly little effort that was for Phoebe.

"Party starts at 8:00 p.m. If you'd like, we can get ready together at your house. Gerald was going to give me a ride anyway, I'm sure it wouldn't be any trouble for you to tag along?" Phoebe looked at Gerald in a pleading way that made his knees feel a little weak. _Damn I guess she got me too_ , he thought as he nodded.

"Course not. Phoebe, I'll text you when I'm on my way. See you girls later," he said as he kissed Phoebe on the cheek, stood from the booth with a smile and left.

"Well that settles that, Pheebs text princess and let her know I'm your plus one," Helga smirked and Phoebe took her phone out obediently to inform Rhonda that their plan was a success. Helga continued to enjoy her chocolate ice cream in ignorant bliss.

* * *

Sid and Arnold were making their way home from the skate park, sharing a flask between them. Gerald had left saying he wanted to go home to get ready for the party and was going to stop off to say hi to Phoebe along the way. Sid unscrewed the silver top to his flask and took a swig before offering it to Arnold with a smile. Arnold took a long drink, and felt the warmth of the bourbon sting his throat. He coughed a little and handed it back.

"Where'd Gerald take off to, anyway? Party doesn't even start for another like six hours" Sid asked as he took another drink from his flask. Arnold simply shrugged.

"I think he wanted to hang out with Phoebe for a bit. Plus he's gotta battle his sister for the bathroom. He said she practically lives in there."

"God the guy's whipped for that girl, isn't he?"

Arnold laughed and nodded, "Yeah, yeah I guess he is. But I dunno I guess I think it's kind of sweet." Sid shuddered and handed the flask back to Arnold.

"Dude if I ever start acting like that over some broad, please beat some fucking sense into me."

Arnold simply chuckled and shook his head. He looked up to see a couple of familiar faces in the window of Slausen's as they started to approach from the other side of the street. He pointed as their faces came into view. "Oh hey, there's Phoebe and Gerald right there."

"Yeah but who's that chick they're with?" Arnold craned his neck to see who his friend was talking about but her back was facing him. Sid didn't seem too keen on giving up his vantage point either. "God _damn_ she's fucking hot. I wonder if Phoebe's bringing her to the party." Sid jabbed his elbow into Arnold suggestively. Arnold pushed him a bit playfully with a laugh and was able to get a good look at her.

Her long golden hair was practically gleaming in the sunlight coming through the window. She had full, dark pink lips and her skin was flawless. She had a slightly sunkissed glow to her that made her look bright and healthy. She held her ice cream close to her mouth and her tongue gently rimmed the frozen chocolate. His eyes ogled her breasts for a while, as they were practically spilling out of her dress onto the table. _Here's hoping,_ he thought with a chuckle. He felt a very strong craving from his groin, and didn't even realize he was holding his breath until his body forced him to exhale and his gaze fell back to her face. He saw strong dark eyebrows framing sapphire blue eyes, when she abruptly furrowed her brows into something of a scowl, his heart did a backflip. His eyes widened, realization slapping him in the face, and he grabbed Sid by the arm and whipped them around the corner out of sight.

"Arnold what the fuck was that?" Sid asked, "I was trying to enjoy the view, her tits wh -," his words were interrupted as he was forcefully lifted by the shoulders of his jacket and slammed into the brick wall behind him. His chest heaved a little from having the wind knocked out of him. He looked down at Arnold who was staring at him wildly, his green eyes were almost feral. "Wh-what...what did I do man?"

Arnold didn't take his angry eyes off of Sid, but slowly lowered him down to the ground, and released his grasp. Suddenly his eyes softened and he scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Sid I'm really sorry I don't know what came over me," Arnold muttered. Sid was giving Arnold a very strange stare, he knew the kid was having a hard time but what did he care if he was checking out some random girl. Arnold looked up at him as if hearing the question, and as the next three words came out of his mouth, Sid made sense of his friend's outburst. His eyes widened in disbelief as Arnold spoke.

"That was Helga."


	3. Blood and Lust

**More minor character development and even some conflict in this one, wooo! I don't really know what else to say, so let's just dive right in! All cast and characters of Hey Arnold! belong to creator Craig Bartlett.**

**Chapter 2: Blood and lust**

Helga was standing in her room, gazing at herself in her full length mirror. She had freshly showered and blow-dried her hair but was now struggling to decide if she wanted to change her outfit for the party or go as-is. She had already somewhat dressed up earlier in the day for her outing with Phoebe, but knew it would be considered pretty casual by Rhonda's standards. She flipped through the garments hanging in her closet, and selected a dress that was housed in a plastic sleeve.

The dress was a gift from her sister Olga for her sweet sixteen. She hadn't even tried it on yet, and decided now was as good of a time as any. She threw her black denim jacket to the floor and removed her floral dress. She unzipped the plastic shell and felt the material within with her fingers. The dress was dusty rose in color and a luxurious satin. She slid it over her body, fumbling with the zipper in the back and peered into the mirror, assessing the look on her. The dress was extremely form fitting and hugged her curves well. The hem was floor-length with a large slit on the left side that went all the way up to the top of her thigh. It had a sweetheart neckline, tastefully accenting her breasts, and the sleeves rested just below the shoulder. As she was eyeing the dress in the mirror, she heard the doorbell chime.

She walked down the stairs, carefully so as not to step on the bottom of her dress. She opened the front door to see her friend Phoebe Heyerdahl and greeted her with a smile.

"Sup Pheebs," she said and Phoebe gasped at the sight of her. Helga responded with an eye roll. "Christ is it really that bad?"

"No, not at all Helga. In fact it's quite a lovely dress. Where did you acquire such a fine garment?"

"Eh, it was a gift from Olga for my sixteenth birthday. You sure it looks okay? I don't want Rhonda to make me play dress up as soon as we get there," she closed the front door after Phoebe entered and they made their way towards the staircase. There were several times in sixth grade that Rhonda had deemed an outfit of Helga's subpar. Rhonda would take her to the mall to try on a seemingly endless amount of clothes until she finally found something she considered decent. It always annoyed Helga to no end, but Rhonda had pretty good taste and she knew it was a weird expression of kindness from her friend.

"I think Rhonda will be perfectly happy with your selection Helga. I brought my dress with me, I'll get changed now," she motioned to the velvet fabric hanging over her arm, "Where is your bedroom?"

Helga led her friend upstairs, ushering her inside her room. She went to the closet to find some shoes, and settled on a pair of lace-up platform high heels, nude in color. Helga wasn't a huge fan of heels and it wouldn't bother her if she never had to wear them again. She could live and die happily in her chunky combat boots. She turned and saw Phoebe changed into her dress.

Midnight blue velvet clung to her slender frame, the dress was long sleeved and had some ruching in the midsection. The hemline was fairly short, reaching about half the length of her thighs. She paired the dress with a pair of matte black pumps. Helga wolf whistled at her friend and chuckled when redness spread across her face.

"I'm gonna have to use a bat to keep Geraldo's hands off you in that thing," Helga stated with a laugh. Phoebe giggled softly in response.

"Would you like me to do your hair?"

Helga nodded and sat in front of her mirror. Phoebe tightly pinned down the hair on one side, and let her blonde hair cascade over her right shoulder. Phoebe always had a knack for these kinds of things, and Helga was impressed as her friend used the iron to effortlessly forge large loose curls in her long hair. Phoebe took a section of hair and braided the locks starting from the bottom left side of Helga's scalp, pinning it into place above her neck and allowing the ends to intermingle with the loose curls over her right shoulder. She shielded Helga's eyes before misting her with hairspray.

"Done," she said with a satisfied smile and turned to her own hair.

"Criminy Pheebs that only took you like ten minutes," she responded in awe as she observed herself in the mirror. Phoebe just shrugged in response as she deeply parted her hair to one side and affixed curls into her black locks. She sectioned off some hair in the front and quickly assembled a waterfall braid that circled around her head like a delicate crown.

"Can I do your makeup as well, Helga?" She asked. Helga crossed her arms and shot Phoebe a look. "Oh please Helga! I won't go overboard I promise," she smiled up at her friend, her eyes pleading. Helga sighed and sat in front of her.

"Fine but keep it simple. I don't wanna show up looking like a circus clown."

Phoebe lightly applied Helga's foundation using a damp sponge. She brushed a light peach blush on her cheeks before instructing Helga to close her eyes. The eyeshadows she used were different nude hues, using a darker color on Helga's creases and her lower lash line. She directed Helga to open her eyes and look towards the ceiling, curling her lashes and applying a thin layer of black mascara. She used a small spoolie brush and brushed out the dark hairs of Helga's thick eyebrows. Phoebe grabbed a tube of dark pink lipstick and painted her friends lips with precision. She dabbed her finger in an iridescent pink powder and applied it to Helga's cheekbones.

"Alright, my work here is done," she said with a satisfied smirk. Helga looked in the mirror and her eyes widened a bit. _Geez I guess I clean up pretty good._ Her look was soft, the makeup only highlighted her best features. The color of her azure eyes popped from the shades of brown and beige on her lids and her skin appeared dewy and supple. Phoebe was using various shades of dark blue around her hooded brown orbs, creating something of a smokey eye. She used a tube of black liquid eyeliner on her top lip, creating a cat eye with precision and applied an almost raisin colored stain to her lips. Her glasses were missing from her face, instead using this occasion to wear contacts which was something she did very rarely. Phoebe heard her phone buzz, and alerted Helga that Gerald was almost there.

Helga hands fumbled around her closet, and after a few minutes pulled out a taupe clutch, stashing her phone and the tube of lipstick inside. She took one last look in the mirror, adjusting the nude straps laced around her ankles. They heard the beep of a car horn outside, signalling Gerald's arrival. Phoebe grabbed her own small black leather purse and the two friends descended the stairs. Bob was planted in a large ottoman in front of the TV, exhausted from cleaning and repainting his latest business acquisition. Miriam was seated uncharacteristically upright on the couch next to him, bringing a small glass of amber liquid to her mouth. Helga and Phoebe called out their goodbyes before exiting the house and seating themselves in Gerald's green outback.

"What an honor it is, I must say, to escort two foxy ladies such as yourselves this evening," Gerald said smoothly, running his hand through his wooly curls, eliciting a giggle from Phoebe and an eye roll from Helga. Gerald planted a small kiss on Phoebe's cheek, eyeing her short dress and curled hair. Gerald himself was sporting a black dress shirt, black slacks and shoes, with a shiny dark blue tie around his neck matching him to Phoebe.

"Why don't we actually get the party before you start undressing my friend with your eyes, Geraldo," she mumbled. He took the car out of park before cutting the wheel and directing the car down the darkened street towards the Wellington-Lloyd estate.

* * *

Helga was nervous as a valet greeted them, opening the doors for the ladies and then parking the car. She used her hands to smooth out the front of her dress, using her arm to pin her clutch against her side. The sidewalk was illuminated with small lights, and she inhaled the floral aroma of the estate gardens. She felt like an awkward baby giraffe walking with her friends to the front door. Her nerves intermingled with the discomfort of her high heeled shoes and certainly wasn't doing her any favors.

A stone-faced man was standing on the granite steps, asking their names and checking a list before widely swinging the door into the grand entryway. An older woman was standing off to the side and offered them a glass of champagne before ushering them down a hallway to the left. Helga took a swig of champagne before entering an extremely large room where loud pop music was playing and her classmates were dancing. Helga smiled as she meandered through the sea of people, the sight of everyone drinking too much and dancing hard was in stark contrast to the stuffiness of their initial arrival. Helga felt a hand on her shoulder and she turned in surprise.

"Well Helga Pataki, as I live and breathe," the girl said before pulling her into a hug. She had black hair that was cut in a short asymmetric bob. Her lips were a bright shade of red, complimenting the ankle-length ruby colored silk train of her dress. The dress was strapless and the bust was made up of intricate black lace. She wore dangling red gemstones from her earlobes, matching the dripping jewels around her neck. Helga smiled at her friend and reciprocated the hug.

"Hey there princess, long time no see!" She said and pulled back.

"Too long! What an exquisite dress, I must say. I'm pleasantly surprised, I didn't expect to have you gracing the floor of my party," Rhona replied with a smirk.

"Yeah it was so nice of you to invite me," Helga's voice was thick with sarcasm, widening Rhonda's smile.

"Well the threat of violence didn't exactly encourage me extending an invitation," she crossed her arms and Helga playfully shoved her shoulder.

"Ah lighten up, you know I wouldn't lay a hand on ya. So listen where is everyone? There's so many people here I don't recognize," at that, Rhonda linked her arm with Helga's. Helga finished the contents of her glass and gave a little wave to Phoebe and Gerald as she was escorted around the party.

Eugene was sitting off to the side, his casted foot propped up on a chair and crutches leaning against the wall next to him. Sheena and Nadine were standing close by, all three were grown up versions of their sixth grade selves. They all exclaimed their hellos and offered their excitement as Helga explained the circumstances of her return.

"We're so excited to have you back, Helga! If you're interested in joining the drama department we'd love to have you" Sheena said recalling Helga's fourth grade performance as Juliet, Eugene eagerly nodded in agreement.

"Yeah we'll see about that. I need to get my bearings first before committing myself to some froo-froo play," she replied, waving Sheena away with a smile.

Harold and Patty were hand-in-hand by the punch bowl chatting with Stinky, Rhonda explained as they walked towards them that the couple finally made things official in eighth grade. Patty shoved Helga in disbelief before lifting her off the ground in a bone crushing hug.

"Criminy Patty, you're squeezing the life outta me," she choked and Patty set her down, beaming wildly. Harold and Helga joked around for a bit, and she promised to text Stinky soon to meet up and skate together. Rhonda led her back to Phoebe and Gerald and unlinked her arms from Helga's.

"I know we have a lot of catching up to do, but it will simply have to wait until later. I have some guests I haven't greeted yet so I should continue making the rounds. By the way, the punch is watermelon so drink freely. Ciao, Pataki," she gave Helga another brief hug before disappearing into the crowd. Phoebe handed Helga a cup of the spiked punch, she smiled down at her friend as she took her drink.

"Thanks for snagging me an invite, Pheebs. I gotta admit, this isn't as bad as I thought it'd be," Phoebe smiled at her before Gerald leaned down and whispered something into his girlfriend's ear. She gave him a look before grabbing Helga's wrist and pulling her fiercely into the crowd.

"Come on Helga, let's go dance!"

Helga grabbed at Phoebe, removing her arm from her grasp and gawking at her. "What the hell Phoebe, where's the fire? You're gonna make me break an ankle."

"Ice cream is here," she said seriously and Helga's eyes transformed into saucers. _Fuck_ , she thought as her eyes searched the crowd in fear. She should have planned for this, a part of her knew that Arnold would show up causing her to panic, but there was another part of her that ignored her instincts and implored her to have a good time.

"What do we do!?" She hissed and Phoebe simply shrugged. Helga grabbed her arm and dragged her next to the refreshments table, they both crouched down hoping to hide themselves as they formulated a plan in case of a confrontation. Their meeting was cut short when a shadow appeared over them, the person who it belonged to had his arms crossed and a mischievous grin on his face.

"Hey girls," he said as they jumped in surprise.

* * *

Helga pushed Sid as he laughed raucously at the sight of the panicked girls and their obvious scheming.

" _Pipe down_ , will ya? What the hell do you want anyway?" Helga shushed him with narrowed eyes. Sid simply laughed and casually leaned against the wall.

"What, can't I come say hi to my dear childhood friends? By the way Helga, that dress looks fucking amazing on you," he leered at her and she could instantly smell the alcohol wafting from his breath. She pinned him against the wall and cocked a fist.

"Are you seriously hitting on me right now you fucking cretin?" Helga felt Phoebe grab her arm and she growled before disarming her fist. Her other arm stayed outstretched keeping him against the wall.

"Helga, it's Sid. He doesn't mean anything by it," Phoebe quipped nervously as she felt several pairs of eyes on them, curiously watching the interaction. Sid smiled apologetically and held his hands up in surrender. With a glare Helga let her arm fall back to her side, releasing the boy. He chuckled.

"Glad to see you haven't lost your spunk, Pataki," he slung an arm over her shoulder. "Sorry about the little misunderstanding, I'll let you girls get back to...whatever that was. But listen if you ever wanna meet to skate sometime, hit me up," he leaned his mouth towards her ear before whispering, "Or, ya know, if you ever want me to show ya a good time." Helga shoved him off of her. She crossed her arms and feigned a smile, leaning her face towards his.

"Not if you were the last person on this planet," she said in a low voice. He simply laughed and playfully punched her shoulder.

"Alright fine, can't blame me for trying, see ya around Pataki!" He said with a wave as he jogged towards the bowl of pink alcohol. Helga rolled her eyes and turned to Phoebe.

"Jesus what a freak. Let's get some more punch Phoebe, I can tell I'm gonna need a good buzz tonight," she said. She turned to walk towards the bowl and felt herself make hard, unexpected contact with another body. She gasped as she hit the floor, thankful she managed not to twist an ankle in the confusion. Furious, her eyes found the source of the collision and her mouth went agape.

" _Arnold?!_ " She hissed in surprise and he looked around with a dazed scowl. Dread washed over him when his gaze met her face and their eyes locked. His eyes never left hers as he stood up nervously, stumbling a bit as he did. He was dressed in a white button up dress shirt and navy blue slacks. Around his neck was a bright red tie and he wore brown leather loafers on his feet. Helga couldn't believe how tall he had gotten, she recalled how she used to tower over him as children. He was fit but she wouldn't describe him as muscular, and his wide head much less football shaped than she remembered. He had combed his hair back for the party, but it was just slightly disheveled in a way that Helga found very attractive.

A hand grabbed Phoebe and she was met by Gerald's concerned face.

"Look Phoebe, we gotta find Pataki. Arnold's drunk and -"

"Too late," she said motioning to Arnold awkwardly offering Helga his hand. Gerald slapped his forehead, seeing the fear and intrigue swirling on his friend's face. Helga stared at his hand for a moment, before taking it and letting him pull her up. They faced each other without uttering a word. Helga felt so many emotions running through her she thought her brain might explode. She tried to regulate her pounding heartbeat before taking a few deep breaths and opening her mouth to speak.

"F-for crying out loud _Football Head_ don't you ever watch where you're going?" Her harsh voice softened as Arnold stepped closer to her. He examined her so carefully that his expression was almost trancelike. Helga wasn't even sure if he had heard her. She was having difficulty reading his face which she wasn't used to, and it was raising her level of discomfort. She raised a fist and knocked on his skull.

"Hellooo, Earth to Football Head?" She said in sing-song and gasped as he suddenly took hold of her wrist. His face never breaking it's stoic gaze as he did so. She tried gently wiggling her arm free but he refused to let go.

"Arnold, what the fuck are you doing? Let go of me," she pleaded and his eyes widened before releasing her. She stared at him in wonder and confusion. _What the fuck was that?!_ she thought before scowling harshly. "Christ take a picture, Shortman. You gonna just stand there staring or are you gonna say something?"

Her words made him a jump a little and he dropped his gaze to the floor, "S-sorry…" he mumbled and rubbed the back of his head. Helga could see a pink blush permeating from his cheeks.

"Geez first Sid hits on me and now this, what a fucking night," she muttered as she stepped around Arnold to pour herself a drink. Her words weren't lost on him however and he met her at the punch bowl.

"Sid was hitting on you?"

"Well, yeah kinda I guess. What's it to you?" She asked coldly and whipped her head to glare at him. He felt fury wash over him and if he had some more alcohol in his system he might be tempted to bloody Sid's face. He took a deep breath and simply shook his head. She turned back and ladled more of the pink concoction into her solo cup. She held her drink near her face, letting her elbow rest on the top of her left hand. Her left arm cradled around herself under her chest.

Arnold would have had to be blind or stupid not to notice the goddess in front of him. Her weight was shifted onto her right foot, the slit in her dress exposing the bare skin of her relaxed left leg. He could tell she was wearing some makeup, but it only accentuated her doe-like eyes and full lips. Her hair was so long and hung like silk ribbons, he had to resist the urge to reach out and grab it. Her body was another story all together. She was extremely toned and her lightly tanned skin only accentuated that. Her very flat abdomen along with the arch in her back made her pronounced bottom stand out all the more. Her breasts were abundant to say the least, and the way she was holding her arms was pushing them up, exaggerating her cleavage. The feeling of want in his groin was hard to ignore and his heart pounded excitedly at the sight of her. _Just my luck, she's a fucking knockout_ , he thought and felt his face getting warm.

He let his eyes stare at her chest for a bit and when he looked up her eyes were locked on him, an eyebrow raised. He gulped and looked away shyly, she choked on her drink as she laughed at his reaction.

"Criminy Football Head, get it together," she continued laughing and elbowed him playfully, making him stagger. "And quit undressing me with your eyes." He slapped his forehead in a mix of frustration and embarrassment and groaned.

"I-I'm not!"

"HA! Like hell you're not, you little creep. What's going on with you anyway, you drunk or something?" She turned and shot him a look, skeptical of his sloppy movements along with his glazed eyes and less-than-subtle facial expressions. He frowned a little at that and refused her eye contact.

"Of course not," he lied.

Suddenly he felt the heat of her face closing the gap between them. Her eyes were half-lidded and he could feel his heart pounding wildly against his chest. "Open your mouth, Arnold," she gently commanded in an almost sultry voice and he did so obediently, trying to slow his breathing. She was millimeters from his face before placing an index finger on his chest, gently pushing him away.

"Whiskey," she said in a low voice and straightened herself back up. He almost had to slap himself back to reality. He could still smell the intoxicating sweetness of watermelon from her breath.

"Since when do you drink, anyway?" She asked with a smirk. "Not such a goodie-two-shoes anymore, I guess. Pity."

"What do you mean by that?"

She shrugged before taking a drink out of her cup, "I dunno. I guess it was kinda charming how dense and _gallant_ you used to be. Now you're just like Sid, drunk and hanging on random girls at a party." He frowned at that.

"I'm not like _Sid_ , Helga. I have a lot more respect for women than he does," he crossed his arms indignantly and a smirk overcame Helga's face.

"Oh yeah?" She challenged. She knew that she would probably regret her bold words tomorrow when she was sober, but there was something so satisfying about teasing him right now. "Is that why you grabbed me like a psycho earlier?"

Arnold knew what she was doing. But he didn't have any words to explain away his strange reaction from when he first saw her. Suddenly he thought about the elusive pink blur from his dreams and shook his head to make it go away. He let his bad instincts fueled by alcohol take him over. He grabbed her by the top of her left arm and quickly pressed himself into her, trapping her between his body and the table. She could feel his warm breath in her ear and her heart kicked at the sudden close proximity.

"You know, something tells me you liked it."

She shuddered as his words met her ear. She was frozen in place, her body tingling from the contact. She was trying to open her mouth to talk, but no words came out and was grateful when Phoebe approached them suspiciously. Arnold let go of her and slowly pulled away. He had a mischievous crooked grin plastered on his face, and winked at her as he turned on his heel to walk away. She gawked at his sudden and frankly overbearing confidence. _Where did that come from?_ she thought, her mouth still hanging open in confusion. She realized Phoebe was talking to her and forced herself to refocus.

"Wh-what? What were you saying Pheebs?"

Phoebe groaned in frustration, "I _said_ what were you guys doing just now?"

"I honestly have no idea. We were just joking back and forth for a minute. I was...kind of making fun of him for being so weird when he first bumped into me. Then he just slammed me against the table. It was so random," she was breathless in her answer and recalled the heat from his body against hers, the tingling returned to her and her pulse quickened.

"Helga, it may be advisable to avoid Arnold for a while. And maybe Sid for that matter. Their actions tonight have been boorish to say the least, and their liberal consumption of alcohol isn't helping," Helga caught sight of Arnold in the crowd of people, he flashed her a smile and her heart jumped. She quickly looked down at the concerned face of her friend and sighed, knowing Phoebe's lecture was justified.

"You're probably right, Pheebs. We haven't even really talked yet and this probably isn't the place to do it. Whaddya say we find Rhonda and dance like idiots, for old times sake?" Phoebe smiled at Helga's words as they topped off their drinks and disappeared into the crowd. They quickly found Rhonda, laughing and dancing together without a care in the world.

* * *

Arnold found Helga almost immediately, observing her as she danced from afar. His gaze was almost predatory while watching her moving provocatively with her friends. He felt something very primal stirring within him, seeing her move her hips so seductively. Suddenly a dark hand waved in front of his face breaking his concentration. He turned to see Gerald, with something of an accusing look on his face.

"What?" Arnold asked simply. Gerald exhaled in frustration and laughed softly in disbelief.

"Man what the fuck are you doing? Are you some kind of masochist or something?" Arnold frowned at Gerald's suggestion.

"What are you talking about?"

"Arnold, _everybody_ saw you two over by the punch bowl. You looked like you were ready to throw her over your shoulder and take her to bed with you." Arnold rolled his eyes.

"Gerald you're exaggerating. We only talked for like five minutes."

"The hell I am! Boy, you better be careful with that one. I like Pataki, don't get me wrong, but she fucked you up bad before and I'm not so sure she wouldn't be willing to do it again." Arnold furrowed his brows and looked to the ground, he knew his friend was right but the words still stung.

Gerald softened his voice as he spoke again, clapping a hand on Arnold's shoulder, "Look I'm not saying you shouldn't give it another shot, or...whatever it is you're thinking about doing. But I think you guys need to have a long talk about some things." Gerald was giving him an encouraging smile, Arnold smiled back and nodded.

"You're right, you're totally right. I guess I got a little ahead of myself," Arnold suddenly cocked an eyebrow as him and Gerald watched Phoebe and Helga dance. "But I mean, one dance wouldn't hurt right?"

Gerald laughed and leaned towards him, "Dude I wouldn't blame you if you did. That dress is _insane._ " Arnold chuckled in agreement and Gerald gave him an encouraging pat on the back.

"Just remember what I said. At some point you and Pataki need to talk," Gerald said before giving him a gentle push. Arnold nodded in understanding and made his way through the crowd towards Helga. Gerald noticed Phoebe had disappeared from her place next to her friends, and jumped when she appeared next to him, her hands on her hips.

"Gerald, what were you and Arnold just talking about?" She asked with a suspicious frown on her face.

"Baby, I promise nothing bad. I just told him he needs to _seriously_ consider having a chat with her before they get too...handsy. Or whatever that was they just did," he answered.

"Gerald I hope you also advised Arnold to maybe avoid Helga until they were both alone. And sober," she replied with an obvious air of annoyance.

"Alright, Phoebe listen. I told my boy he needed to have a long and serious chat with Pataki. And I made _damn_ sure to remind him of what happened before, and I think he really gets it, okay? Now just let them dance for the night. We'll keep an eye on 'em," he smiled reassuringly at her and she forced her eyes shut before sighing in defeat.

" _Fine_. I suppose a little dancing won't hurt," she muttered.

"That's my girl. Now let me grab you some punch," he replied before kissing her on top of the head. Phoebe just grumbled in response and her eyes fell back onto her blonde friends. She smiled while watching Arnold awkwardly offer his hand to Helga. _Don't fuck this up, you two_ , she thought. Suddenly Gerald's arm was wrapped around her, and he offered her the fruity drink before taking her hand in his, moving them towards the dance floor.

* * *

Rhonda and Helga were spinning goofily to the music. A quick smirk cracked Rhonda's porcelain face, and she leaned her face to Helga.

"I think I hear Nadine calling me, I'll catch up with you later," she walked away and Helga just shrugged and kept dancing. She soon felt a presence behind her and turned to see a pair of green eyes locked on her. Arnold stepped forward and held out his hand to her.

"Could I have this dance, m'lady?" He asked with a cheesy grin.

"Oh brother," she quipped as she grabbed his hand and allowed Arnold to twirl her around before turning her to face him. Suddenly, the music changed to something very slow and heartfelt. Helga looked up at the music booth in confusion, instantly making eye contact with Rhonda. Helga scowled at her and Rhonda blew a kiss in retaliation and she simply sighed in defeat.

"I-it's been a while Arnold. I don't really dance like this," she muttered awkwardly.

"It's alright, I'll lead," he said before spinning her once so that their arms were crossed in front of her as he held her hands, exaggerating her cleavage. _Oh dear god_ , he thought, feeling her backside pressed into his pelvis. He fought hard against his hormones, but couldn't help letting his eyes trace the length of her slender neck, across her collarbone and down to her voluptuous bosom. Her back was leaning a bit to the right against him, exposing her left leg near to her hip. He tried to keep himself together as her bottom brushed against his groin.

Helga wasn't completely oblivious to Arnold's wandering eyes and decided to have a little fun with him. She abruptly spun herself to face him, pressing her breasts against him and wrapping her arms around his neck, making him gasp audibly. He dropped his hands to her hips but turned his head quickly to the side, afraid of what he might do in that moment if he saw her alluring blue eyes looking into his. His mind was swirling with intoxication, both from the alcohol and the blonde clinging to him.

A very faint chuckle met his ears, and he quickly realized what Helga was doing. It was as annoying as it was arousing that she was toying with him, but he figured even if he lost her little game he was still winning in a sense. He pressed himself into her, wrapping his left arm around her waist tightly and gently running the fingers of his right up her spine and her neck. She shuddered with lust and his hand cupped the back of her head guiding it to his shoulder.

She found herself plotting other ways with which she might tease him and slyly smirked to herself as she played with the back of his hair. She took a lock of his blonde hair, gently twirling it around her index finger and he melted into her. He had to suppress a moan at her sudden contact, and felt an immediate craving rising from between his legs. He heard a wolf whistle from the crowd and his eyes found Sid sneering at them, he reciprocated with a motion of his middle finger.

The gentlemanly part of him was saying this was probably bordering on lewd as people around them gave disgruntled stares. But there was another part of him that wanted to throw Helga against the wall, tear the dress from her and explore her body with his own. He gave into himself a little as he slowly glided his right hand from the back of her head, down her back and towards her hip. He allowed the tips of his fingers to gently graze her backside as he did so, and he felt her twitch in his arms. His hand continued gravitating downward, his fingers finding their way through the slit in her dress and firmly grasped the side of her exposed thigh. Her skin was on fire where his hand had touched her, even the parts through her dress, and she was trying very hard to suppress her ragged breaths.

Helga at this point sensed that Arnold had caught onto her little game but wouldn't allow herself to be defeated so easily. As soon as his hand made contact with her naked flesh she quickly lifted her left knee, pressing it into the back of his waist, forcing him to grind against her. She rolled her hips into his and his fingers squeezed her thigh hungrily in response. _Christ Helga how far are you gonna take this?_ he thought as he felt himself hardening between his legs. She rolled her hips into his once more and he dug his nails into her thigh, unable to contain a soft moan.

She chuckled and lifted her head slightly from his shoulder, bringing her mouth to his ear and questioning him in a sensual whisper, "Better than the tango?"

Arnold was relieved he didn't have to answer that question when the song suddenly changed. She unwrapped herself from him and smoothed the front of her dress casually. She sauntered away from him towards the refreshments and like a moth to a flame he followed closely behind her.

Helga saw several disapproving eyes fall on her following their dance and laughed to herself. _What a bunch of prudes_ , she thought and grabbed a solo cup, filling it with the spiked drink. She smiled as Arnold approached her, both of their cheeks still flushed from their suggestive dancing. He followed her lead and poured himself a drink, and the tenseness in the air shifted a bit as they stood silently for several minutes.

He could still feel Helga wrapped around him and his body pleaded with him to replicate the contact. His mind was absolutely clouded with indecency, and his eyes lingered on her body. Helga could see him staring at her out of her peripheral, she turned her head to look at him and he quickly averted his eyes. She gave her head a small shake before facing her head forward to watch the crowd. As she took a sip of her drink she could feel him boring holes into her once again.

She whipped her head towards him and Arnold rubbed the back of his head bashfully when she caught his green eyes on her a second time, "What? Why do you keep staring at me like that?"

Arnold quickly gulped the contents of his cup and instantly refilled it, his hands shaking noticeably. He was all of a sudden extremely nervous being in Helga's presence and knew that he wanted to say something but didn't know what or how it would even be received. She appeared so calm to him after their dance and meanwhile his confidence was waning. He took another swig of his liquid courage.

"It's just, you know. You look...really beautiful tonight, Helga," his nervousness was leeching itself onto her and she averted her eyes at his words.

"I-I do? I mean, uh thanks Arnold," her voice was low and shaky but she smiled at his complement. A hand clapped Arnold's shoulder and Helga groaned as Sid interrupted them. He breathed the aroma of whiskey on them and slurred his words he spoke.

"Man you guys. That. That was some dance. Helga. Helga don't get mad but you got _hot_ dude. Arnold, fuck her good for me tonight, alright buddy?" Helga felt fury ripping through her, but before she could even blink she saw Arnold's fist make contact with Sid's nose, blood spewing everywhere. Someone near them screamed and people swarmed to interrupt the commotion.

Gerald was holding Arnold back, his green eyes filled with blind rage that Helga had never seen before. Sid was writhing in pain on the ground, Harold and Stinky trying to console him. Rhonda frantically grabbed a stack of napkins from the drink table and ran to press them to Sid's bloody face. Her head whipped furiously at Arnold.

"Arnold it's time for you to leave," she commanded. Arnold turned on his heel and walked out, Sid shouting expletive laden words at him as he did. All of a sudden, someone was holding Helga's shoulders, shaking her gently.

"Pataki, what the fuck just happened?" Gerald demanded. Helga snapped back to reality, and tried to verbally recount the heated incident.

"I-I don't know. We came over to get some punch and we were just talking. That fucking lush came stumbling over and was being a creep so Arnold laid one into his face," Gerald growled in frustration.

"What did he say, Pataki?" Helga felt shame building up inside her. She couldn't help but feel like somehow this whole thing was her fault. Tears were brimming her blue eyes and her words were shaky when they left her.

"He...he told Arnold to _fuck me good for him_ ," disgust painted her face and she felt the anger building inside of her again. Gerald's mouth was hanging in shock at the words she just said and he didn't have time to react to Helga angrily marching over to Sid. Sid's eyes widened in fear as Helga whipped her hand back and her palm made audible contact with his cheek.

Everyone was stunned as she grabbed her purse, took her shoes off and ran out the door.


	4. Here Come the Waterworks

**Trigger warning for questionable sexual activity. Happy reading! All cast and characters of Hey Arnold! belong to creator Craig Bartlett.**

**Chapter 3: Here come the waterworks**

Tears were streaming down Helga's face as she walked down the dark street. Her phone started ringing and she answered when she saw the name on her screen.

"Hey Pheebs."

"Helga are you alright? Where did you go? Gerald said you left the party by yourself, where are you?" Normally Helga appreciated her friend's concerned demeanor but was quite over all the attention she had received through the night.

"Listen Phoebe I'm fine. I need to be alone for a bit okay? I'm serious, I _need_ you and Gerald to leave me alone right now. I've got GPS on my phone and I know my house isn't too far from here. Talk to you tomorrow." She pressed "end" on her phone before Phoebe could protest. The gravel of the long driveway against her bare feet made her wince, but she couldn't handle another minute in her high-heeled death traps. She gasped in surprise when she saw a blonde boy to the right of her, sitting on the curb at the end of the driveway.

"Criminy Football Head you about gave me a fucking heart attack!" She held her hand over her heart as she spoke. She caught her breath and sat down on the curb next to Arnold. He looked up at her and his green eyes were brimming with tears. A painful jab reverberated in her chest when she saw his face.

"You okay, Arnold?" She asked gently, he just chuckled softly and shook his head.

"I should be the one asking you that. Sorry about Sid, I dunno what his problem is," Arnold squeezed and relaxed his fist a few times, his knuckles red from the contact. Helga took his hand, and pressed her mouth to the back of it tenderly. He watched her carefully as she did so, and she gently set his hand back in his lap.

"Sid is a slimeball and an idiot. You hang out with him a lot?" Arnold shrugged and nodded in response. "Why?"

Arnold looked down and was silent for a moment before answering, "I...I guess I don't really know. Sid and I have always had a connection I suppose. He doesn't make me feel so guilty about stuff, like Gerald does sometimes."

"Guilty about what, Arnold?"

He exhaled sharply and put his head in his hands, "Helga, it's been a long time since you've been around. A lot has changed. I'm not exactly the same kid from five years ago," Helga chuckled quietly.

"Uh yeah, I kinda already figured that one out, bucko." She smiled, taking his red tie in her hands and loosening it. She unbuttoned his top button and instantly he breathed easier.

"Thanks, I kinda forgot I was wearing this get up," he murmured and shook his head. The air around them seemed to thicken with tension and made them both feel awkward. Helga was watching him out of her peripheral, he had his phone out and was tapping out words on the screen. "Figure I better let Gerald know you're with me. Phoebe is probably freaking out." Helga laughed at that.

"Yeah I'm sure she'll be _so_ relieved knowing I'm with your drunk ass."

"I'm not that drunk anymore! That dance really got my blood pumping, I think I was stone cold sober by the end." She could see his eyes glaze over and a lop-sided smile emerge onto his face. She smirked and gave him a swift flick on his forehead. He grabbed her wrist and stared deeply into her blue eyes, his eyebrows slightly furrowed. She felt a blush spread over her cheeks before she ripped her hand back.

"Why do you keep doing that? It's creeping me out," she asked. He looked away and answered with a question.

"So when are you going back to California?"

She looked up into the night sky before answering, "I'm not going back. I start school on Monday."

"N-no shit. _Why?_ " he asked, disbelief painting his face.

Helga shook her head and looked at him, "What d'you mean 'why?' Is there a problem?"

Arnold scoffed and looked at her with cold eyes. "I dunno Helga. Should there be a problem? Should the fact you left me here a fucking mess be a problem?"

She looked at him and her eyes narrowed, she stood up and started walking down the street. He groaned and started following her.

"Stop following me, Shortman," she said coolly.

"Helga I didn't mean it like that. But I think we have some stuff we need to talk about."

"Nope," she replied. Arnold grabbed her by the shoulders, examining her expressionless face.

"I said, we have some stuff we need to talk about. You're not gonna leave me high and dry. Not again." She saw his misty green eyes and felt her face soften.

She didn't know what to say, she knew she had done a pretty shitty thing all those years ago but she was finding herself getting irritated at his words. He acted like what happened didn't affect her, didn't he know her better than that?

"I'm sorry okay? Is that what you want to hear? I'm really, truly, deeply fucking _sorry._ I shouldn't have done what I did. I should have just talked to you and told you I didn't want to be together anymore. But I screwed up and I didn't do that. But let's talk about _you_ for a minute, pretty convenient for you to try and cuddle up to me when you thought you could make me a one night stand. Fuck you, Arnold," her words started off lowly and but had risen significantly by the end. She was panting now and tears were rolling down her cheeks. She dropped to the ground and sobbed for a minute. She wiped her face on her arm, audibly exhaling and waving her hand in front of her face.

The sight of her broken down like that made Arnold's heart shatter with guilt. He always imagined this day playing out, and that he would finally get to express to her all of his anger and resentment. Those emotions left him as she crouched before him now, and all he could feel was sadness seeing her so vulnerable and melancholic. He realized how bad his actions at the party looked now, and he couldn't deny that he may have been chasing a fleeting romance, where he had one night to do to her all the things his brain ever imagined. But that was because he didn't know, and standing there now he was fairly confident that if he did, he _still_ would have wanted her wrapped around him at the end of the night.

"I was scared Arnold," his eyes never left her but he still jumped in surprise when she spoke again. "You were too _good_ for me, ya know? I was some angry little shit of a kid and you were so kind and thoughtful and fucking perfect. I didn't deserve you. I didn't deserve any of it."

Arnold was about to open his mouth to speak when he saw headlights coming out of the driveway that stopped abruptly next to Helga. Phoebe rushed out of the car and immediately flew to her, her eyes were daggers when she looked up at Arnold.

"Helga are you alright? Arnold what did you do to her?"

"I-I didn't do anything Phoebe, I swear to god. I just wanted to talk," he pleaded.

Phoebe stood Helga up, grabbed her belongings and ushered her into the back seat. Gerald got out of the car, his hand rubbing the back of his head awkwardly before clapping a hand on his friend.

"Look man, I dunno what happened tonight but I think it's best if I take Pataki home. You gonna be okay getting home?" Gerald asked. Arnold felt tears stinging his eyes.

"Gerald I just wanted to talk to her, I _swear._ "

"Man I get it but look, the girl's a wreck right now and Phoebe's pretty pissed, by the looks of it. I think you guys both need to cool off for a bit. I'm taking her home. Now answer me Arnold, you gonna be okay getting home?" Arnold shoved his friend's arm off of him before backing away coldly.

"I'm fine Gerald."

Gerald shot him a sympathetic look, but just nodded silently before getting into the driver's seat and speeding off down the dark road.

* * *

Helga's eyes opened and a splitting headache greeted her. She hissed as she crossed the floor to block the daylight from her room, the light of morning taunting her. She laid back in bed, and regret washed over her as she recounted the events of the night before. _You really fucked this one up, Pataki._

She reached over to her bedside table and felt around for her phone to check the time, 9:57 a.m. She also saw four new messages on her phone and groaned in frustration. Two of them were from Rhonda, and she rolled her eyes as she opened them.

"Helga Gerald told me everything. I promise Sid won't be attending anymore parties here. I'm so sorry."

Followed by:

"Hey are you ok? Just wanted to check in."

Her fingers tapped her screen furiously.

"I'm fine princess. Trying not to die from this hangover"

The next message was from Phoebe.

"Hello Helga. I wanted to see how everything was going. Call me when you get a chance."

She didn't bother typing out a reply, and told herself she would call Phoebe later after some water and Advil were in her system. The last message was from a name that made her eyes grow wide in surprise, "Football Head 3". It wasn't that she was completely shocked that Arnold was texting her, but she figured after last night he might be hesitant to contact her so soon. _Jesus I really need to change his contact name._ She edited it to simply read "Arnold" before opening his message.

"Hey Helga it's Arnold. I made Gerald give me your number if you were wondering. I was really hoping we could talk today. Let me know?"

She groaned and set her phone down next to her. "Why can't you people just let me suffer in silence, for crying out loud?" She then reread Arnold's message curiously. _That asshole, did he delete my number?!_

She slowly forced herself out of bed and into the bathroom across the hall. She filled the glass by the sink with water several times over, relieving her dehydration. She pulled some Advil from the medicine cabinet, popped three in her mouth and chased them down. She set the glass down, looking at herself in the mirror. _Cripes I look like shit_. She pulled off her t-shirt and shorts and stepped into the shower. For a while she just let the hot water pour over her. She finally made the effort of shampooing and conditioning her hair, then grabbed her mesh pouf, slathering it with body wash and running it over her body. It felt good to wash off the grime of the night before, but as some of her hangover melted away, shame replaced it and she recalled the events that preceded the morning.

She felt pretty shitty for yelling at Arnold after he defended her to Sid. She also wasn't too proud of breaking down and sobbing in the middle of the road like a giant baby. She even felt a little bad for slapping Sid, despite the fact that he definitely deserved it. She felt her cheeks redden thinking about her suggestive dancing with Arnold and groaned with embarrassment recalling some of the things she said and did to him during the party. She washed her face and gave herself once last rinse before stepping out of the shower and wrapping herself in a towel.

She entered her bedroom and locked the door behind her, shifting the towel to wrap around her long blonde hair as she dug through her drawers. She grabbed a bra and some panties, slipping them on before pulling out a black pair of skinny jeans and an oversized pink t-shirt. Once she was dressed, she removed the towel from her head, and brushed her wet hair before parting it down the middle. She worked her hair into two dutch braids and secured the ends with elastic.

Helga finally grabbed her phone and called Phoebe. The line trilled shortly before her friend's voice came through the other line.

"Helga! I'm so glad to hear from you, how -"

"Quieter Pheebs," Helga commanded the shrill voice.

"Oh, my apologies Helga," her volume lowered significantly. "I wanted to talk about last night, how are you feeling this morning?"

"I feel like dog shit and frankly the _last_ thing I wanna do is talk about last night. But you're my best friend and I love you so I'll just give you the short and sweet." Helga took a deep breath before rapidly spitting the details of the party to Phoebe. " So Arnold and I were at the party, we had finished dancing, which I'm going to kill Rhonda for later by the way, and then we were just hanging out, talking. All of a sudden Sid stumbles over and starts telling me how hot I am and tells Arnold to fuck me good for him. I'm about to sock him, but freaking _Football Head_ of all people beats me to it. He has this crazy look in his eye and next thing I know Rhonda's kicking him out and Gerald's shaking me trying to figure out what happened. Then I walk up to Sid and slap him one real good before getting the fuck outta there. I start walking home pissed, and see Arnold sitting on the curb crying. We talked for a minute and it was fine and then I dunno what happened but he got all mad at me when I told him I moved back. Next thing I know I'm yelling at him about how sorry I am for everything and how he only wanted to fuck me and completely lost my shit. That's about when you and Gerald pulled up and took me home." Helga finished her story breathlessly and was almost panting after her rapidfire retelling.

"Hm. Well what do you plan on doing now?" Phoebe asked simply.

"I dunno _what_ to do. I woke up to a message from him saying he wants to talk, and I have no idea what the hell I'm supposed to say to him," Helga whined and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Perhaps it would be a good idea to talk to him. It would probably be best to clear the air before school starts tomorrow. It sounds like he is ready and willing to have a conversation with you, and while it may not be the most pleasant conversation, now might be your only chance to be open and honest with him. He may not be interested in having a conversation later," Phoebe answered and Helga sighed at her friend's words.

She knew Phoebe was right but how could she even begin to talk to him about this? Not only that but there was so much that happened while she was in California, so much that he didn't know.

She thought to herself about all of the significant events that preceded this day over the last five years. There were so many things she wanted to tell him, but her heart was wrenching at the thought of him knowing all the fucked up shit that had happened to her during her absence. There was something still so pure about Arnold, despite his actions the night before, and she didn't want to taint that with her muddied past. She didn't have to tell him everything right then and there, and she certainly didn't intend to.

Helga thanked Phoebe for providing her with a ride to and from the party and for checking up on her. She promised to update her as soon as possible. They said their goodbyes and Helga stared down at her phone, pulling Arnold from her contacts.

_Now or never, I guess._

* * *

Standing outside the Sunset Arm boarding house was both surreal and grounding for Helga. Never in a million years did she expect to be back here, and was surprised at how it very much looked the same as how she had remembered it. It was a weird feeling, being so familiar with a place but having the comfortability so faded. Like looking back at a photograph from childhood, the faint memories come spilling back, but they're so fuzzy it's like they're from another time, another place.

She continued to stand there staring, not wanting to face whatever lie beyond the front door. She kept telling herself that there was still time to get out, still time to walk away, however she remained frozen there. Arnold had instructed her to call as soon as she arrived, but she couldn't even bring herself to take her phone from her pocket. It would have been so much simpler to just walk away. She had loved Arnold from afar for so long it was like her second nature, right? She didn't _have_ to do anything, especially answer to his football-headed ass.

As soon as Helga made up her mind to turn back, the front door burst open. _Fuck, this is really happening_ , she thought, knowing she had been caught and that the time for atonement was upon her. She looked up to see Gertie, Arnold's grandmother. She was impressed at how good she looked for her age. This was only proven further by her clear, albeit grossly inaccurate, recollection of the blonde girl in front of her.

"Why, Helen of Troy! It's been ages since you've graced us with your presence. I assume the expedition didn't go so well?" She asked and Helga laughed very awkwardly at the question.

"Uh, no. No it really didn't. Arnold home, Gertie?"

"Kimba? Well of course, dear. Come on in and make yourself at home. I'll fetch him for you," Gertie held the door open for her and Helga took a deep breath, encouraging herself to cross the threshold. _Christ I guess this is it_ , she thought and ascended the front steps before awkwardly standing in the front entryway.

Gertie shrieked for Arnold, her cupped her hand around the side of her mouth, intensifying the volume and making Helga jump. _Get a hold of yourself,_ she thought and Arnold came flying down the stairs, almost in a panic.

"Grandma, are you oka- OH, hi Helga. I didn't realize you were here, I didn't get a call from you," Arnold pulled out his phone to confirm that Helga didn't call him at all and, unbeknownst to him, hadn't planned to.

"Probably because I _didn't_ call you, Football Head," she muttered. "Granny here found me outside before I had the chance," she motioned to Gertie who gave a small laugh.

"Oh, well I'm glad you found the place alright."

"Yeah only took like two stupid buses to get me here," Helga replied.

She was trying to demonstrate just _how_ little she wanted to be there but wasn't sure if Arnold might be too dense to pick up on it. After the events of the night before she knew her and Arnold did need to clear the air one way or another, but her hangover intermingled with intense guilt was making it difficult to want to do that right now.

Neither were very keen on meeting publicly as the chances of running into another one of their classmates was fairly likely on a late Sunday morning. Helga refused to have Arnold at her house, not only did she _not_ want to explain to Bob why she was hosting a boy in her room, but the entire livelihood of both of her parents was embarrassing to say the least. Arnold suggested meeting at his place, his grandparents always liked Helga and knew well enough to leave them alone and were even quite happy to do so. He offered to meet her at her place and ride over on the bus together but Helga declined his suggestion.

Helga heard footsteps and Arnold's grandfather Phil came through the doorway.

"And now who is this pretty girl you've got visiting you, Short man?"

"Grandpa don't you recognize her? It's Helga. From elementary school," Arnold explained.

Phil looked surprised by the answer and knelt down getting extremely close to Helga, examining her face. "You mean the nasty little thing with the blonde hair and the one eyebrow? This is that girl?"

Arnold nodded and Phil inspected her closely, "You sure?"

" _Grandpa."_

"C'mon Arnold, I'm just pulling your leg! But jumpin' jehosephat, little lady. We haven't seen you in ages! You certainly look...different than the last time you were here. How ya been? How's that blowhard father of yours?" Arnold slapped his hand to head forehead in embarrassment, while Helga just chuckled before answering him.

"Can't complain, I guess. And he's still a blowhard, just older and fatter. We actually just moved back here the day before yesterday," she answered.

She noticed something about the way he was looking at her that she couldn't quite read. Something like recognition and enthusiasm, maybe? She couldn't put her finger on what it was.

"Well now, how about that. Welcome back to Hillwood, Helga. Make yourself at home here of course. Pookie and I will be in our room if you need anything, _have fun,_ " he grabbed his wife by the arm and Helga noticed him move at a speed most impressive for someone of his age. The old couple giggled wildly as they ran up the stairs and into their room. She also saw the very exaggerated and obvious wink Phil gave Arnold as they left.

Arnold rolled his eyes to himself and was hoping like hell that Helga didn't catch his grandfather's words of _encouragement_ , for lack of a better word. She didn't seem to react to his words however, and was just inspecting the room casually, much to his relief.

"Come up, let's go up to my room," he said, and she followed him down the hallway, hesitantly.

She was extremely nervous, and if she was being honest with herself, a little scared. Being in someone's room is such a personal gesture, now that she thought about it. Not only that, but it yielded a sort of upper hand of control to Arnold she wasn't exactly comfortable with. _Crap, maybe we should have just met at the stupid park,_ she thought, and delayed her steps behind him.

She followed him in slowly, an anxious blush on her face, "Listen Arnold I dunno if -"

"Helga, come on! I'll hold the window for you," he called to her, climbing up the ladder through his skylight. She always loved spending time on the rooftop with Arnold when they were younger and the smile he was flashing her now was convincing enough. He held his hand down to her and she ascended the ladder, nostalgia slapping her as she took his hand.

They came up through the skylight and Helga saw that everything on Arnold's rooftop sanctuary was almost exactly the same. The old piano Gertie always played was even in the same spot, though its age was showing after years of exposure to the elements. Arnold sat near the edge and turned to give her a weak but nonetheless encouraging smile, wordlessly beckoning her to join him.

Helga crossed the rooftop to join him and sat down with a sigh, "So, Football Head, you got me here. What did you wanna talk about?"

"Well we should probably start with last night," Arnold looked down and exhaled audibly before continuing. "I'm really sorry, okay? For everything. I'm sorry I drank so much, I'm sorry I punched Sid in the face and got us kicked out, I'm sorry I yelled at you and made you cry. I'm sorry we danced like that and you thought I was trying to take you home with me. I'm fucking sorry. Really."

Arnold was looking at her now with a very somber expression, biting his bottom lip. Helga let his words hang in the air for a moment in confusion. She was expecting him to call her out, not apologize. She realized that despite how different he might be now, there were so many things that were still the same. There was so much more passion in him now than there ever was previously. It wasn't always so apparent to her, but she could feel it in his words now and see it in his actions the night previous. However, the fact that he was so quick to shoulder the blame certainly harkened back to a very familiar football-headed ten year old.

"Okay first of all, don't apologize for laying one into Sid because he's freaking disgusting. He got it from me too, after Rhonda made you leave. And I didn't get kicked out, I left on my own," she could still feel where her palm had made contact with Sid's face, and the sound replayed in her head.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you too, by the way," she added. "I-I really am sorry for before. I meant everything I said though. I thought I was doing you a favor by pushing you away, but it was honestly just really fucking selfish. I was so scared of seeing you, Phoebe had told me some stuff about you on Friday. She told me about Lila," she looked over and he cringed a little at the name.

"Oh yeah, _Lila_. I'm guessing she gave you the whole story with that one, huh?" Helga nodded her affirmation and Arnold continued, "Yeah I should have figured. I feel kinda bad now, I treated her like shit, honestly. I didn't mean to hurt her, I shouldn't have even dated her to begin with. I was going through a lot back then, it wasn't fair to her."

"What do you mean?"

"Eh that's around when my parents got...weird. They were fine for the first year or so when they came back. I mean you know, you saw them. But things were pretty confusing for them, so much had changed in the modern world. I think it overwhelmed them after a while. It was like, I dunno, culture shock or something. They were seeing a therapist for a while but it was recommended they seek some in-patient psychiatric care. They've done a few different stints of that now. As we speak they're at some wilderness retreat thing. I don't really see them much," Arnold's eyes seemed distant as he looked out over the city, but he talked about the situation so nonchalantly.

Helga didn't like how almost hardened the years seemed to have made him. He could be very soft and sweet-spoken like the Arnold of the past, but seeing this side of him concerned her. It made sense if he was partying as much as Phoebe had indicated, the kid was trying to numb out the world around him. In many ways it seemed to be working, but Helga recalled Phoebe telling her about Arnold's blackout. He couldn't hide his pain all the time.

"What about your parents?" he asked suddenly.

"Bob and Miriam? Well dad's a dick as always, as I'm sure you could have guessed. That's basically the reason for the move, actually. After the Elexus merger there was someone he was forced to view as his equal. And god forbid that ever happen. He sold his shares and got out of his contract. Bought some shitty furniture store here in town. Although, sofas aren't exactly as sexy as electronics so maybe he won't sleep with half the staff now."

Arnold was a little flabbergasted at that revelation. _Bob's been having affairs?_ he thought, but decided against asking for details. He couldn't imagine that Helga loved his infidelities and it wasn't any of his business anyway.

She continued, "He was really treating my mom like shit back in Cali. Me too for that matter but I guess I'm cut from a different cloth than she is. She pretty much spiraled. Maybe she figured drinking herself to death might be her only way out. Who knows. She refused to talk to me about it or even acknowledge that a problem exists."

"What about your sister?"

"Olga? She's clueless, or at least pretends to be. I tried talking to her about it once but she's in even more denial than Miriam. I really only see her during the holidays. She's backpacking across Europe or something right now," Helga chuckled softly. "I guess we get along better now that we're older but it's all so… _superficial_ ya know? It is what it is. It used to piss me off when we were kids, but I'm pretty much used to everything at this point." She fell silent after explaining her family dynamics, watching large clouds pass through the sky, forcing the sun away.

"You want a beer?" Arnold asked suddenly, walking towards the skylight.

"We have school tomorrow, bucko. And it's the middle of the afternoon," she responded with an eyebrow cocked.

"Yeah but, you look like you could really use a beer. I could too, I'll be right back," he said before descending into his room.

Helga sat there and overlooked all of Hillwood. She was amazed at how much had changed but how much was still the same. She could see Mr. Green's butcher shop nearby, as well as Gerald Field and even Mighty Pete still standing proudly. Several new businesses had cropped up, unsurprisingly. Trendy restaurants and cafes dotted the city streets. Amazing how much can change in five years time.

Arnold returned, six pack in hand. Helga eyed him suspiciously, "I thought you said _one_ beer Football Head?"

He didn't answer her and simply popped the caps on two of the bottles and handed her one. She took a long drink, happy the tension had dissipated since her arrival. When she turned her head she caught Arnold staring at her.

"Why are you staring at me like that?"

"You really are beautiful, you know," he answered before taking a drink from the bottle in his hand. Helga felt a deep blush creeping onto her cheeks. _Where the hell did that even come from?_ she asked herself.

"Yeah, whatever," she muttered and he chuckled. _She doesn't even realize it, does she?_ he asked himself. He watched her brows furrow before she spoke again.

"By the way, Arnold. I'm sorry for saying you were just trying to hookup with me last night. That was...kind of shitty of me. I mean, we were dancing _together_ , it wasn't just you," she stared out over the city and her brows stayed knitted together. Arnold chuckled.

"Nah I get it. I mean I _would have_ , but I would have regardless of if I knew you were moving back or not," he was giving her a mischievous crooked smirk as he spoke.

She whipped her head at him, her mouth slightly agape at his answer. His face didn't break it's expression and he leaned his face towards her.

"You know, I never answered your question," he started. She was confused by that, but much more concerned with his close proximity, _What question, what the fuck is he talking about?_

" _Much_ better than the tango. Dangerously so," he finished and gave her a wink.

Her heart was pounding into her chest. _What was I thinking, why did I say that to him?_ she hissed to herself and tried to create some distance. She didn't like what his words were doing to her, there was something so thrilling about this side of Arnold. But it was also strange and foreign to her. Not a lot of guys had the balls to talk to her like that, especially this one (or so she had thought). She had so many thoughts swirling around her head at this point.

_Is he always like this to girls? Does he like, get around? Cause the way he talks makes it seem like he, I dunno, thinks he's smooth or something._

Arnold could feel Helga examining him and chuckled. He grabbed her arm and pulled her close to him. She inhaled sharply in surprise.

"J-just what the _fuck_ , do you think you're doing, Hair Boy?" she tried to hold back her stammer and appear confident.

She couldn't let him know what his words were doing to her. His mossy eyes however, drew her body into him. She was as mesmerized by him as she was suspicious.

"I know what I _want_ to be doing," he said quietly, his grin widening.

She couldn't guess what her face looked like right then, but much to her relief he simply dropped her arm and lifted his bottle to his mouth. She sat where she was unmoving, trying desperately to coax her heart rate down to an acceptable level. It was certainly bizarre to her to say the least when he'd act like that just to drop it so abruptly.

"Do you like, sleep around?" She asked, his eyes widened and he choked on his drink. "Because, what the fuck? You act like you're some kinda Casanova or something all of a sudden."

Arnold frowned and felt his face redden, "N-no. I-I've never slept with anyone, actually."

Helga shot him a look, " _Really?!_ Dang that's...actually surprising."

"W-why?"

"I mean look at you you're ho -" she edited herself, seeing how nervous he looked right then. "You're really uh, good looking. I mean sheesh, even _I'm_ not technically a virgin."

Helga immediately regretted the words after they left her mouth. Arnold's face fell and he immediately broke eye contact with her.

"Oh. I mean, of course not. Why would you be?," he muttered. "Wait, what do you mean _technically?_ "

"I'd rather not talk about it, Arnold," she answered.

"Well why not? You gotta ask me!" he pleaded.

"I said no."

"Why though?!" he asked indignantly.

"Because I didn't want to do it with him, Football Head!" Helga could feel the fury in her eyes but quickly softened her face at his reaction. A mixture of realization, shock and then guilt washed over him.

"Helga I'm so sorry, I had no idea," he said quietly. He forced his eyes shut, wishing he could take it back.

She groaned, "It's fine Arnold," she sighed heavily before continuing, not daring to make eye contact with him. "It happened two years ago at a party. It was the first one I had been invited to before moving so I was really excited about it. I had drank _a lot_ , and it was a highschool party at someone's house, so I shouldn't have been there to begin with. I remember dancing with my friends, and some idiot football player trying to hit on me. Then I blacked out. I woke up in the house the next morning in a bed next to him. I just got dressed and left. I don't even remember it," Arnold had reached over and grabbed her hand, she smiled weakly and he gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"When I went back to school, somehow everyone had found out. The people there...they were fucking _relentless._ I remember calling Phoebe because some bitch wrote 'slut' all over my locker. When I found out who it was, I knocked a few of her teeth out. Got suspended, she was some prissy little thing so the whole school hated me at that point. I begged my parents to start me at a different highschool than everyone else for my freshman year. And they did. Probably the nicest thing they ever did for me, to be honest."

Arnold's heart was in his throat. He was trying to find the words to express how awful that was and how sorry he was that she had to go through that alone, but they eluded him. He wished he could have been there to protect her. From everything. He looked over and she had pulled her knees up to her chest. He noticed her beer was empty, he popped the top to another bottle and handed it to her. She smiled weakly at him and accepted it without a word. She hadn't intended on telling him this today, but she figured at least he only knew part of what made California so terrible for her. She still had stuff she could keep close to the vest.

He moved himself closer to her, and put his arm around her shoulders. She leaned her head on him, and he pulled her close before resting his head on hers, hoping his silent affection might reach her when his words couldn't.

* * *

They stayed like that for a while, putting their drinks to their lips and silently watched as clouds continued to roll in. The rain started as a light drizzle, but thunderclaps in the distance gave indication to the impending weather and it was quickly pouring. Helga finally broke their closeness, and stood herself up. Arnold ran to her and grabbed her by the waist, picking her up and spinning her around, something he did often in the days of their romantic youth. She laughed in a way she hadn't in she couldn't even remember how long.

He finally set her down, a wide grin on his face, "Let's get inside, you look like you're freezing."

She nodded and followed his lead into his room. Like clockwork, Gertie suddenly opened the door making them both jump, Helga almost surrendering her grip on the ladder.

"Hot chocolate for the hero and her companion!" She said with a smile and a tray of hot drinks in her hands. "They're calling for flash floods you know," Helga's eyes widened at the information as Gertie continued her tirade out the door, "Hoist the sails, boys! It's gonna be a crazy one!"

" _Floods?_ Please tell me your grandma was just exaggerating, Arnold," Helga pleaded.

"Let me check my phone," he said and started scrolling. "Uh, nope, afraid not. Public transit is closed and they have roads closed off to traffic."

Helga groaned, "Fuck fuck fuck. This is gonna suck to walk in."

"Helga you can't walk home in a flood. They're calling for…'damaging winds and significant water accumulation,'" he read to her. "You're gonna have to call your parents and stay here."

"I can't stay here _, Football Head_. Tomorrow is the first day of school. All of my stuff is at home!" she cried.

"Helga, it's _flooding_ , they're not gonna open school tomorrow they already announced closures."

"Great, juuust great. So I'm stuck here of all places with _you._ This is a goddamn nightmare," she whined. Arnold glared at her. _Grateful as ever, I see_ , he thought.

Helga stood up and made her way to the door, she barely had her hand on the knob before Arnold grabbed her. She whipped her head at him incredulously.

"Let me go, Arnold. I'm walking home."

"No," he said firmly, not allowing her to snake herself out of his grasp.

"Sit," he commanded as she continued glaring at him, refusing his words.

" _Now,_ " he told her. With that she ripped her arm forcefully from him and sat cross-armed on his couch, refusing to meet his gaze. Arnold groaned at her.

"Call your parents and let them know you're staying here. It's only one o'clock so just enjoy your hot chocolate and try to relax. I'll go and make us some sandwiches," he instucted and he made his way to the door.

Helga took out her phone and called Bob. After a few trills he answered.

"This is Big Bob," he answered.

"I _know_ who you are dad. Listen, they're calling for some stupid flash flood and the school's closed tomorrow. The buses and the subway aren't running so I'm staying at...Phoebe's. I'll be home tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah whatever. I'll let your mother know you'll be gone," he said and hung up. _God what a bastard_ , she thought.

Suddenly it really dawned on her what was happening. She was staying at Arnold's house for the night. Arnold's. House. She quickly started panicking to herself, pacing back and forth.

_Oh no what do I do? It's obvious I'm not getting out of here if Mr. Noble has anything to say about it. Where will I sleep? What am I supposed to sleep in, his clothes?! Oh god oh god._

She pulled her phone out and found Phoebe's name in her contacts. She hastily called her, her friend answered after a few trills of the line, much to her relief.

"Hello Hel -"

"PHOEBE. Ugh thank god. Listen, everything has backfired on me, I'm stranded at Arnold's riding out this stupid flood. What do I do? Help me Pheebs!" She said to her friend desperately.

"Quite honestly Helga I'm not quite sure how to assist you. The only thing that you can do is wait out the flood and hope to keep things uh, _amicable_ with Arnold," her voice suddenly shot down to a near whisper. "And maybe sleep in separate beds. It wouldn't be advisable to give into... temptation given the nature of your current relationship."

Helga pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. She heard footsteps coming down the hallway.

"Christ, thanks for nothing Pheebs," she hissed before quickly hanging up and shoving her phone into the pocket of her damp jeans. Arnold came through the door with two plates and she was pretending to drink the luke-warm beverage. He handed her a sandwich, she stared at it for a bit before giving into hunger.

They ate in silence. Helga watched Arnold suspiciously as he cracked open another beer. He either refused her glance or didn't notice it as he finished his lunch. She finished shortly after he did.

"You always drink like that?" She asked. He rolled his eyes and set it down.

"Want me to pour it out? We don't have school tomorrow, I figured it didn't matter," he answered. Helga didn't appreciate the tone he took with her.

"Christ it was just a question Arnoldo. You don't have to get so fucking defensive," she muttered back. He chose to ignore her and offered the last bottle to her. She took the bottle and the opener and popped off the cap. She sighed in defeat and took a drink.

_This is gonna be a long night._


	5. They're Thunder and Lightning

_**Frequent sexual contact ahead.**_ **All cast and characters of Hey Arnold! belong to creator Craig Bartlett.**

**Chapter 4: Thunder and lightning**

Arnold collected the empty plates and mugs of hot chocolate and took them downstairs to the sink. Helga was still on his couch upstairs, pouting and grumbling about their unexpected sleepover. He placed the dishes in the kitchen, and jumped when he saw his grandfather standing silently in the doorframe behind him.

"Jesus grandpa, I didn't know you were there," Arnold said breathlessly. He frowned at the enthusiastic smile his grandfather was offering him.

"Sorry about that Short man. Well looks like it's gonna be a doozy of a storm, eh? What are you going to do about your little friend upstairs?" He asked with a raised eyebrow and a smile.

Arnold sighed, "I told her she should stay put for the night. I'll just sleep on my couch. That okay if she crashes here, grandpa?"

Arnold's grandpa chuckled, "I suppose, Arnold. So tell me, I see you're a little damp from the rain. Were you guys hanging out on the roof?"

"Yeah we had some stuff we needed to clear up, the rain hit while we were still hanging out up there," he answered.

"Must've been awfully cold out there. Make sure you warm up your little friend," he said with raucous laughter.

" _Grandpa!_ " Arnold scolded and practically ran out of the room, he could hear his grandfather laughing still as he approached his bedroom door. He entered his bedroom quickly, closing his door hard behind him making Helga jump.

"Christ Arnoldo where's the fire?" She asked. She could see a red tint on his face and looked at him curiously.

"S-sorry about that. I wanted to hurry back, I figured you probably want to get out of those wet clothes," he lied and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

He crossed the room to open his closet, and pulled out a pair of drawstring plaid pajama pants and a t-shirt, grabbing himself some sweats and a blue flannel shirt. He tossed the clothes to Helga and opened the door.

"I'll give you some privacy. Be back in a few minutes," he said.

"Aw and here I thought I'd have an audience," she said sarcastically with an eye roll.

Arnold had barely started leaving before she started taking her damp shirt off. He caught a glimpse of her lacy pink and black bra cradling her large breasts. She was covered in goosebumps from the chill of the rain. After a moment he quickly realized what he was doing and exited the room with flushed cheeks.

He went into the bathroom, locked the door behind him and looked in the mirror at himself. _Alright, you've gotta pull yourself together. It's just the girl of your dreams spending the night. In your room. No big deal, you can do this._ His brain replayed the image of her sun kissed stomach and voluptuous bosom. He shook his head to make the image go away.

Helga had finished changing and grabbed the front of Arnold's shirt now on her body, sitting cross-legged on his bed. She brought the fabric to her face, inhaling his aroma. _God he smells amazing_ , she thought and was interrupted by the opening of the bedroom door. She flung her hands into her lap, feigning innocence.

Arnold couldn't help but feel his heart skip a beat at the sight of her in his clothes. _Why is that such a turn-on?_ he wondered. He admired her natural beauty, no make-up and her hair in braids, her body swimming in clothes, but she still looked radiant. He quickly realized he needed to distract himself from her. As much as he enjoyed seeing his clothes on her, his opinion was they would look much better on his floor.

He grabbed his remote, and went to a shelf on the wall filled with different movies. "Wanna watch something?"

"Sure let's see what we have to work with, Hair Boy," she said and crossed the room to eye his selection.

"Oh my _god_ ," she said excitedly. "You have Evil Twin 4?! We're watching this one, get it fired up, Football Head," she said decisively and handed him the DVD.

He laughed at her selection, "Sure thing, but I have to warn you - it's pretty bad."

"Arnold they're _all_ bad. That's what makes them so good!"

"Can't argue with you there," he said, feeding the disc into the DVD player and pressing play.

He was a little buzzed from the beers he had drank, but was trying to maintain a clear head. Helga was a little tipsy as well, but was content as the alcohol had eliminated her hangover from the night before. She felt her phone buzz on the bed next to her, it was from Phoebe.

"So how are things going?"

_Nosy, aren't we?_ she thought as she tapped out her reply.

"Fine. Talk went ok I think. We're just watching a movie now."

Her phone immediately buzzed back. She rolled her eyes as she read the message from her friend.

"Good. Behave yourselves."

She tossed her phone away from her and tried to keep focus on the movie. The plot was essentially the same as the other Evil Twin movies, someone enters a house looking into a mirror, saying a certain series of magic words thinking it's all a big joke, and summoning the evil twin. Helga laughed as the person in the movie left the room, believing the summoning didn't work, leaving the evil twin to silently step out of the mirror and begin his tirade.

"Christ you're right it _is_ bad. I mean the production quality really went downhill," she continued chuckling at the screen.

Arnold couldn't help noticing her lovely smile and relished in her intoxicating laughter. It was then he realized he was in trouble. He spent so long trying to forget her, and unpacking all of his emotional turmoil with Dr. Bliss had helped him to overcome some of his heartbreak, but he could tell that was unraveling. He was beside himself knowing his attraction for her was evolving into real feelings once again.

This certainly complicated things for him, as he had no idea if she would reciprocate his feelings. She already told him the night before she didn't want to be with him anymore all those years ago. Why should things be any different now? Worse yet, he didn't exactly have the proper avenue to ponder these emotions right now, she was right here right in front of him and would be for some time.

* * *

Helga could see that Arnold wasn't paying attention about half-way through the movie as he sat cross-legged on the bed next to her. She couldn't help but wonder what he could be thinking about that was distracting him so much. She found herself hopeful that he wasn't suddenly regretting allowing her to stay for the night.

She studied him for a bit, his golden hair had dried messy from the rain. Blue was a good color on him, it always had been and she enjoyed the familiarity of his plaid shirt. He had a really nice body, from what she could surmise. He wasn't muscular by any means, but just toned enough that he cut a nice form. She was observing the contemplative look on his face, she never realized before how truly beautiful his eyes were. The green of his irises was so vibrant and lush, just like the jungles of San Lorenzo where he was born.

She knew she was catching feelings for him all over again. There was even something she found alluring in some of his strange, almost dark behavior. He was so easy for her to read when they were younger, and now his crooked grin had seemingly endless meaning. She was certainly intrigued by him.

There was a force in Helga that so desperately wanted to reach out and touch him. She was very sure that he had been flirting with her at the party, and even a few times on the rooftop earlier that afternoon. She didn't know why she always warred with herself emotionally. She could pen a thousand poems regaling her unbridled love of the blonde boy, but sitting here with him alone now she struggled. Her alcohol fueled bravery from the night before was long faded, and the three beers she consumed simply wasn't enough to reignite it.

_Fuck it_ , she thought and reached out to grab his hand, interlocking her fingers with his.

Arnold jumped at the surprising touch and stared thoughtfully at their tangled hands. Helga saw a smile emerge on his face. His troubled thoughts melted away and he jerked her close to him. Her heart was slamming into her ribcage now and he used his free hand to cup the side of her head. They leaned their faces into each other, and allowed their eyes to close as the space between them lessened. His lips gently met hers and she could feel the electricity of the contact surging clear down through to her fingertips.

Everything about it was what she had hoped for. The warmth, the familiarity, the tenderness. She had fantasized about this more than once since she left Hillwood. They pulled back only to crash into each other again, magnetized. She felt his mouth open just slightly and his tongue touched her lips requesting entry. She obliged, her mouth opened to welcome him and she let out a small gasp.

Arnold let his tongue dance with hers ravenously. Like a junkie getting his long-awaited fix, he craved all of her in that moment. He dropped his hands to her hips and pulled her to sit on top of him. He moaned into her mouth as she wrapped her legs around him, her arms snaking around his neck and into his hair. His hands felt her hungrily, and he advanced them under her shirt, feeling her bare back. It dawned on him that she wasn't wearing a bra, a very pleasant discovery that only made him grow between his legs. He tentatively let his fingers travel to her ribs, not wanting to provide any unsolicited contact. Helga squeezed her legs tighter around his waist, wanting his hands to feel more of her.

He let his right hand cup her breast, she let out a breathy moan. She moved her mouth from his and trailed kisses from his jawbone to his exposed neck. She suckled and teethed on him for a moment before allowing her lips to once again crash into his. He squeezed her soft flesh gently in response, and let his thumb graze the hardened nub of her nipple. His other hand quickly found the other side of her and he massaged her breasts gently, eliciting several rolls of her hips, grinding herself against his hardened member. He groaned at the suggestive movement and the immense pleasure he felt from it.

Arnold could have explored every inch of Helga right then, but a voice outside his door interrupted their passionate display. They pulled apart from each other, annoyed.

"C'mon you two, dinner's ready," they heard Phil call to them.

Helga wondered how long they had been locked together like that, seeing the television now displaying the movie menu screen. She got up to move to the door and gasped in surprise when Arnold abruptly lifted her hands above her head and pressed himself into her, pinning her back against the door. She was still dazed from their previous encounter, and looked up at him, her eyes pleading for contact and her pouty lips slightly parted.

He was smiling the devious crooked smile Helga had begun to familiarize herself with and sighed into him when his lips once again met hers. She wrapped her tongue around his before he suddenly parted from her, bringing her hands down and pulling her from the door. He kept one of her hands in his and they descended the stairs to the dining room.

* * *

Arnold and Helga sat at the dinner table with noticeably flushed cheeks. Helga saw a small dark circle on his neck and began snickering, Arnold who was none the wiser gave her a bewildered expression to which she just shook her head.

Gertie soon appeared with a plate of pork chops and bowl of mashed potatoes. A gravy boat along with plates and cutlery were already set, and the two blondes were surrounded by the familiar and eccentric residents of the boarding house.

Everyone welcomed Helga warmly, when she explained that she had just moved back they all exclaimed happily. At one point Oskar commented on her large bazingas, earning a sharp elbow jab from his wife Susie. Mr. Hyun explained how Mei was just recently married and had a son named Omari. He was now the proud owner of the restaurant he had worked at diligently for so many years. Ernie was still in the demolition game, and told her about his latest structural takedown.

After they finished dinner, Arnold and Helga offered to clean up, earning a smile and hug from Gertie. The boarders all gave their goodbyes before retreating to their rooms. Arnold and Helga cleaned all the plates off the table and she washed dishes in the kitchen while Arnold packed away the leftovers. He retreated to the dining room to wipe the table, the sight of his grandfather giving him a cheeky smile made him jump.

"Oh hi grandpa," he said. "Sorry, you startled me."

"You seem a little jumpy today Short man, something on your mind?" He asked with a suspicious grin.

_If only you knew the half of it_ , he thought but shook his head no in response while wiping the table.

"Sure okay, then. Whatever you say. Interesting mark on your neck there, Arnold," Phil said and Arnold raised an eyebrow in confusion. "The little minx," he finished with a wink and laughed as he wandered up the staircase.

Arnold made sure to hear the sound of his grandparents door closing before racing into the bathroom to look in the mirror. _Oh I'll never hear the end of this one. Damn it, Helga,_ he thought to himself, but couldn't help chuckling proudly. He never had a proper hickey before. An idea suddenly popped into his head and he sauntered back into the kitchen.

"Oh hey, Arnoldo. You get the dining room all cleaned u-," she gasped as he came up behind her, grabbing her hips and planting a gentle kiss on her neck before nipping and sucking on her skin. She unintentionally moved her backside into him and he reached under the front of her shirt and grabbed her breast tightly. She let out a quiet moan and suddenly, to her dismay, the contact was gone. He smiled at her wickedly and began drying the dishes on the rack.

Helga wasn't keen on Arnold having the last laugh at her expense. His back was to her, putting a stack of plates in the cupboard. She dried her hands and snuck up behind him. He froze as she lifted the back of his shirt and started planting wet kisses all over his back. One hand felt up his smooth stomach while the other wandered over the crotch of his jeans. She stroked him over his clothes and he melted into her. She let her fingers graze the skin beneath his waistband, a certain part of him eagerly awaited her touch but it never came.

Arnold turned to face her but Helga was already back to washing dishes. He grabbed her shoulder and spun her to look at him. She could feel how hard he was against her, and his hands went to her chest, gently squeezing her nipples between his fingers. His hands dropped to her ass and he picked her up and placed her on the ledge of the counter. She wrapped her legs around his waist and their mouths found each other. She used her legs to squeeze him tightly against, and she moaned lightly into his mouth and he felt himself twitch between his legs.

As soon as he felt her arms wrap around his neck he picked her up and started carrying her to his room. He groaned when she pulled his lips away from his.

"Arnold, what about the dishes?" She asked him breathlessly.

"Later," he replied as he fumbled with the knob to his room and her lips reconnected with his.

He carefully let himself fall backwards onto his bed with her on top of him, never breaking their kiss. She rolled her hips into him and he gasped as she did. Her hand crept between them and under his waistband. She kept her open palm there for a bit, and he found himself longing for her touch. He moved his mouth away from hers to shower her neck with wet kisses and gentle bites. He placed his hand on the back of her head, pulling her closely so he could whisper into her ear.

"Please touch me, Helg-," he never finished that sentence with actual words, only a moan as she obediently placed her hand around his hard shaft, he eagerly pulled his pants down around his thighs.

Arnold pulled the front of her shirt up, kissing her exposed collarbone all the way down to her chest. She stroked him slowly at first, but his lips around her nipple and his tongue lapping at her nub silently encouraged her to quicken her pace. He switched his attention to her other breast as his hand grabbed the first. His lips finally met hers again, she squeezed his hardness and he moaned loudly into her mouth. She chuckled softly as she pulled away, giving a tentative nibble of his right ear lobe. At that his face fell into her chest and his teeth gave a moderate bite of her breast, she gasped in both pain and pleasure.

He could feel the familiar tingling in his groin despite all of his efforts to resist, wishing he could stay in this moment just a little longer. He didn't realize just how much more enjoyable this was when it was someone else doing it to you. He could feel himself panting, and Helga could anticipate what was going to happen. He couldn't suppress his wild groaning as her hand moved quickly over him.

His body jerked and he felt his satisfaction exploding out of him, all over his exposed belly and Helga's hand. He laid there out of breath, and Helga planted soft kisses on his face and neck. She looked up at him suddenly, a smirk engraved onto her face, clearly pleased with the power she had over him just now.

"Want to play video games?" She asked innocently.

* * *

Arnold and Helga focused their attention onto the television. They were playing an FPS type game, and he was growing frustrated at her unexpected prowess. He growled when she landed a headshot on his character and set his controller down forcefully in frustration.

"Maybe we should go back downstairs and finish those dishes?" He asked, not wanting to get his butt kicked for the hundredth time in a row.

"Sure whatever you say Football Head," Helga responded and he led the way out of his room.

They crept back into the kitchen and found that the remaining dishes had been cleaned and put away already. Not daring to turn on any lights until they had to so as not to disturb the boarders.

"Must have been Oskar," Helga said sarcastically and Arnold snickered at her suggestion.

The light of the kitchen suddenly flipped on and they screamed as Gertie, standing in the doorway, cackled at their reaction.

"Hello, Kimba! Helen! I didn't expect to see you in the bunker so late," she said with a warm smile. "What brings you down here?"

"H-hi grandma we were just coming back down to finish the dishes, we got uh, _distracted_ earlier and didn't finish them all," Arnold answered, a pink tinge crept over his cheeks.

"Well that's funny, I don't see any dishes," she remarked, motioning towards the sink.

"You're right Gertie, Arnoldo here has clearly lost his mind, we'll get out of your hair," Helga said, playfully punching Arnold's shoulder.

"Helen, stay for a moment. Kimba you go on up to your room. Girl talk," Gertie said with a wink.

Arnold and Helga exchanged confused glances. Helga just shrugged and he nodded his head to his grandmother before retreating up the stairs to his room. Helga smiled awkwardly, not exactly sure why Arnold's grandmother was suddenly interested in talking to her, but had a faint idea it would involve Arnold. Gertie smiled and sat at the table in the breakfast nook, holding a hand out indicating Helga to sit down.

"S-so what did you wanna talk about, Gertie?" Helga asked politely.

"Have you ever heard the story of how Phil and I got together?" Gertie asked in response.

"Uh no, I guess I haven't."

"Well I've known Phil practically all my life, and I knew from the moment I laid eyes on him that I had to have. Of course, that was when we were children, you see. Now children tend to not be the most emotionally... _intelligent_ people. I didn't know how to express my feelings for Phil and of course I feared rejection being such a proud and strong girl. So I bullied him, constantly and vigorously. Any attention he paid me I figured was good at the time," she sighed, her eyes were distant as she recalled the memories of her past childhood.

"But I wasn't always so mean to Phil, you know. There were still times even as a bratty kid I would try and do right by him. Often in unseen ways but regardless of the mean things I did to him, I always wanted him to be happy. One day when we were in highschool, my secret do-goodery had been caught. He didn't always do so well in school and we had a test that day, I overheard him telling some of the other boys that he didn't do well."

"So I had broken into the classroom and changed his test results, as I was just finishing, Phil had come into the classroom, he wanted to talk to our teacher about the exam and see if he couldn't get a do-over. He caught me red-handed with his test in my hands. Once he realized what I had done, he had started to piece together the other seemingly random fortunate things that had happened over the years," Gertie had a wide grin on her face, she chuckled and continued.

"At that point he started questioning me about things and I admitted everything to him. He saw me in such a different light from that point on. I was thrilled when he started taking a liking to me. I didn't need to hide behind my silly charade anymore, and he even started _really_ liking me.

"Well we were going steady for a while, but he decided to join up with the army during the war. I remember the day he told me that he was going to be sent out overseas, he told me he wanted to stay together. He wanted us to keep in touch over letters. Now at first I was fine with it, I finally had the boy I had been pining after for all those years," she said, Helga noticed something in her voice that told her the story wasn't finished yet.

"So what happened?"

"He sent me a letter, and I was so overwhelmed I didn't know what to do. It didn't seem right, this brave man fighting for our country overseas, to be fawning over someone like me at home. I was so in love with him, and knowing that at any time he could send me a letter ending things scared me. Knowing that I might write to him and never hear from or see him again scared me. I didn't want to go through something like that. I never responded to his letters, for a while anyway. I finally sent him one back telling him to leave me alone, that I didn't want to be with him anymore."

"What did he say?"

"Nothing. And why should he have? It wasn't until he was back home that I saw him again. There was a musical performance one night at the Circle Theatre, so I got all gussied up with some friends and happened to stumble into him there," Gertie said.

_This is all sounding too fucking familiar_ , Helga thought but quickly tuned back into Gertie's story.

"I didn't know what to do! I felt a mixture of anger, guilt, and embarrassment seeing him there. But Phil was just so excited having finally seen me again. He had pursued me throughout the evening and once I finally let my mind be open to him, we ended up talking all night. And that's truly where things began for us. We've been together ever since," she finally finished. Helga smiled warmly at her.

"That's a...lovely story, Gertie. But, you wanted me to stay here so you could tell me all that?"

The old woman cocked an eyebrow at Helga, "Something like that, yes. Kimba has not had it easy these last few years. Phil and I were concerned shortly after you moved away. He's developed some...issues over time. Miles and Stella's _condition_ certainly only made things infinitely worse, I imagine. But there are many things he isn't willing to talk to us about. He certainly took things a lot harder than Phil did all those years ago."

"Y-yeah. He kinda told me about some stuff."

Gertie was suddenly looking at Helga quite seriously, "I have a feeling you don't know everything quite yet, Helen. I don't think Kimba recovered from his heartache in the same way his grandfather did. He has had too much happen and at very a young age, and he's such a sensitive boy. And I don't think this journey, should you decide to embark on it, will be easy for you either. There will come a time when you and Arnold will have a decision to make, Helga. Several, possibly."

_Okay this is getting fucking weird,_ Helga remarked to herself, hearing Gertie use her actual name.

Gertie started to stand from the table, "He needs help. More than what Stella and Miles or Phil and myself are able to offer. I was lucky with Phil, he never wavered from who he was and is still very much the same since the day I met him, always has been. Kimba isn't. He is still in a lot of ways a good boy, but I do think you need to be careful."

She had started walking out of the room, but turned once more and her eyes met Helga's wide and almost fearful ones. Helga could feel a strange twisting in her stomach at her words. _I need to be careful? Of fucking Football Head? What does that even mean?_

It was as if Gertie was reading her mind, "In due time things will reveal themselves. For the _both_ of you. Now this old woman needs to rest. Glad you could wait out the storm with us, Helen and I'm happy we could have this talk."

She retreated up the stairs into her room, leaving Helga in the dimly lit kitchen to ponder her words. A lump had formed in her throat as she recalled what Gertie said to her. A flash of lightning and a large clap of thunder made her jump.

_The fuck is going on with you, Arnold?_ she asked herself before ascending the stairs to his room.

* * *

It was starting to get late now, around 9:30 p.m., and Arnold couldn't help but notice how quiet Helga was since coming upstairs. He was concerned about the conversation she had had with his grandmother, but she assured him over and over that she was simply recalling old stories of her and Phil. He didn't really understand why his grandmother would insist on speaking to Helga alone just to talk about old love stories, but he had to take it on faith since she wouldn't budge.

_Maybe she's just tired? Or annoyed? I wonder if I did something to upset her,_ he thought. He opened his mouth to speak to her but she interrupted him before he could.

"Arnold are you having some problems or something? Like is there something going on you don't want me to know about?" She asked him in a way that was much more tender than what was typical of Helga.

"What do you mean?"

"I-I guess I don't know. I'm just, I dunno, _worried_ about you," she said and looked deeply into his green eyes.

He didn't know quite how to answer that. While he certainly felt like basically everything in his life was a problem at the moment, he didn't feel like he was ready to talk to her about a lot of things at that point. After all, he had only just reconnected with her the day before. His mind flashed back to some of the panic attacks he had had recently and, for some reason, the persistent pink blur of his dreams.

He was so angry or sad most of the time, but he didn't really want Helga to know about all that. She didn't need to bear witness to his more impulsive and destructive tendencies, let alone have knowledge of them. Seeing him punch Sid was enough of a glimpse and he wanted to shield her from it.

Arnold had a lot that he didn't want to talk to her about. Not yet. She was finally here, after so long and he didn't want to frighten her away like before. Maybe he could let her into his world later, but right now he didn't want to touch on his problems. Even if he only had this one night with her he wasn't going to let himself ruin it or taint it.

Helga herself was struggling. She realized how quickly things had moved between them and was concerned they were getting themselves in deep at a breakneck speed. She literally only moved back two days ago, and had barely finished getting her room back together before she was obsessing over him again. She knew there were a lot of things she was keeping close to the vest and she was afraid of how he might receive some of the information she held.

She realized this was the happiest she had been in a long while, and it probably wasn't fair to ask him to divulge to her such personal stuff while she was still clinging to so many secrets. She hadn't even really given the whole story about _that guy_ yet. Arnold himself seemed fairly content in her presence, maybe now wasn't the right time. He certainly was acting fairly normal and benign, unlike the night before. She recalled Gertie's words and told herself it was time to make a decision, even if just for tonight.

"You know what Football Head? Never mind. Wanna lay down and watch a movie?" she asked. Arnold smiled at the suggestion and went back to his movie shelf.

"Anything sound good?" He asked and his eyes grazed over the DVDs.

"Nah it doesn't matter, surprise me," she responded. He pulled one off the shelf and chuckled.

"Okay so we're kind of going out of order here, but I always thought the third Evil Twin was the best. Used to scare the shit outta me as a kid," he suggested, recalling a distant nightmare about his weird cousin Arnie.

"Can't argue with ya, there! Get it going, bucko!"

Arnold inserted the DVD and pressed play. He noticed Helga was under the covers of his bed, laying on her side to face the television. He wondered how it might feel falling asleep next to her but didn't want to make her uncomfortable. He went to his closet to grab extra bedding and started making up a spot for him to sleep on the couch.

"Aren't you gonna lay with me, Arnold?" Helga asked softly.

He stared at her for a bit, considering the suggestion. No shit he wanted to, but didn't know how far things would go if he did. They weren't even dating and he didn't want to destroy what little they had by being too impulsive. But the way her eyes seemed to be begging for him and the gentle pleading in her voice didn't make him entertain these thoughts for very long.

He walked towards the bed and hesitated before snuggling up under the blankets behind her, deliberately keeping distance between them. She grabbed his right hand and laced their fingers together, putting his arm around her. He pulled her close to him, he could smell the sweet scent of her as she laid with her back pressed into him. The rain was still falling heavily outside, the occasional crack of lightning created white fissures in the sky and casted its glow inside, highlighting the silhouette of the blonde in front of him. The light was eerie, but also astoundingly beautiful.

Arnold's arm around Helga made her feel so safe, so peaceful in that moment. Ironically, she couldn't help hearing Gertie's warning to her once again. _Be careful of what?_ she wondered. Her thoughts were interrupted by Arnold exposing her bare neck from under her golden hair. He couldn't help himself, his mind was swirling with all the things he could have done with her, laying pressed against him like that. A pair of soft lips met her skin, she cocked her neck towards him, welcoming his affections.

The first kiss was followed by another and then another. She arched her back into him when his kisses became hungrier and she felt his tongue and teeth on her neck. His hand left her to grab at her breast over her shirt. She turned her head to try and meet his mouth, he raised himself up and their tongues twisted together. Arnold snuck his other arm under her and he worked his hands under her shirt. He was clutching at both sides of her bare chest now and her breaths hardened.

Helga's right hand met his under her shirt, and he grabbed at her with more urgency. She put her left hand into his hair, creating almost a fist as she tugged at it. He sighed into her mouth and used his fingers to rub the pink center of her left breast.

Arnold suddenly pushed her onto her back, his right arm moved to support the back of her head. His left hand was feeling the bottom hem of her shirt, he eyed her quickly as he tentatively moved the garment up, she chuckled in response and helped to pull the shirt off over her head.

He couldn't believe the lovely sight in front of him now. The occasional flash from the storm illuminated onto her skin. Helga chuckled as he stared at her so fervently, _Cripes it's like he's never seen tits before. He practically had my shirt off a few hours ago_.

Arnold's mouth fell to her collarbone as his free hand explored her exposed flesh. He laid her head down gently as his face moved down to kiss and lick and nibble every bit of her. Both hands were feeling her now, he used one to softly trace over her stomach making her shudder, while the other massaged her chest. His mouth found her nipple and she tried to hold back a high pitched moan.

At the sound of that he looked up, his eyes locking onto her and a sly grin splitting his face. His hand gravitated to the waistband of her pants, he untied the knot of the drawstring before sliding his hand under. Arnold expected another barrier of fabric and blushed at his realization, _Oh man, she's not wearing panties._ His hand was tentative at first upon meeting the smooth skin of her pelvis. The contact made her roll her hips gently and his hesitation melted away. He placed his hand under her head and his mouth met her ear.

"Your turn," he whispered and his teeth made contact with her earlobe as he moved his hand between her legs. Helga's thighs parted slightly and she felt a finger making gentle strokes over her clit. She moaned and Arnold's mouth fell to hers, obscuring the sound.

Her breath had quickened and unintentional soft moans left her mouth with every exhale. Arnold advanced his hand, slipping his middle finger into her and using his thumb to massage her sensitive bud of nerve-endings. She gasped loudly as he worked his finger around inside of her. She was so wet and warm and feeling this part of her excited him. He wanted to burn the memory of how she felt into his brain forever. He knew this was the time to hold back his primal instincts and he did so fairly obediently. He could have let her have him right then and there, but had to remind himself why that probably wasn't wise right now. Of course that didn't mean he couldn't have his fun playing with her, though.

Arnold pulled his face from hers, wanting to make sure she was feeling every bit of pleasure from this as he intended. Her eyes had closed and the breathy sounds she was exuding was every bit of the reaction he was hoping for. She was rolling her hips into his hand, and he timed his finger sliding forward and back inside of her with her movements.

He knew he didn't have a lot of experience in the bedroom, Lila had been extremely modest and trying these kinds of things with her honestly just didn't feel right. He fingered a girl named Angela in a closet at a party once, who drunkenly felt him up over his jeans. They had never spoken again and it made Arnold feel more dirty than anything afterwards. This moment was everything to him however, and he was happy he was sober now and could think back on it later.

He pressed his thumb a bit more firmly onto the bud between her legs while leaning his head down to gently bite her nipple, and she moaned fiercely in response. She was absolutely relishing everything he was doing to her and could feel what started as a spark between her legs begin to electrify her throughout her body.

He moved his head up to face her and her eyes blinked open to find his, feeling him close to her face.

"You're so wet," he said with an impish grin.

Helga's hand found the back of his head and she pressed his forehead to hers.

"Please, don't stop Arnold," she commanded, her eyes were half-lidded and her breaths suddenly quickened. He obediently continued his motions, never once dreaming of stopping what he was doing to her now. He could tell she was close to climaxing and locked lips with her, he wanted to feel as much of her as he could in that moment. She moaned wildly into his mouth, her hips bucking as pleasure overwhelmed her. Helga's body went suddenly limp and Arnold removed his hand from her, pecking her mouth with kisses over and over again.

Afterwards, they cuddled back up into each other, he gently caressed the back of her hair and she hummed in contentment. The storm continued raging in the atmosphere around them but they paid no mind to the inclement weather. They laid there making small talk for a while, discussing school and video games and laughing at each other's jokes until slumber finally enveloped them.

* * *

Arnold was standing on the rooftop of the Sunset Arms boarding house. Thunder boomed and lightning crashed fiercely all around him. He looked around in confusion, no rain was falling and there was no water flowing through the streets like the report predicted. Yet the sidewalks were totally empty and the windows of the buildings surrounding him were blackened. He didn't understand, why had they shut down the buses and the subway? Why had they cancelled school?

_Helga_ , he thought suddenly, remembering that she had been there with him. He was concerned now, spinning around and finding himself alone, he couldn't see her anywhere. Hadn't she just spent the day there with him? Gentle, honeyed laughter pricked his ears and his head whipped around wildly, unable to pinpoint where the sound originated from.

"Helga? Where are you?" he asked in a near shout, as thunder threatened to drown out his voice.

The laughter sounded again, but he was no closer to finding its source. He tried to open his window into his bedroom but the lock had been fastened and his fingers fumbled uselessly trying to pry it open. He felt someone behind him and turned hastily to see Helga standing there, smiling at him with her arms crossed. She was wearing a pink dress with white sneakers, and her hair was done up in two dutch braids. He was so relieved that she was okay, he stood himself up to hug her but quickly stumbled forward, his arms embracing nothing. She was gone again.

He ran around the rooftop, looking for her. Suddenly he heard a distant voice calling to him.

"Hey Arnold!"

Arnold was able to determine the voice was coming from below him and looked out to see Helga waving from the street. The thunder and lightning seemed to have increased in frequency and he hurried down the fire escape, desperate to get them to safety. Why was she acting so strangely? He tried to jog to her but she giggled at his advances and ran.

_What is she thinking?!_ he asked himself and willed his legs to hit the pavement faster.

He tried as best as he could to shorten the distance between them but his legs felt strangely gelatinous and uncooperative. Still he pressed on, finally seeming to catch up. They were finally face-to-face, her expression had changed from one of gentle happiness to one of intense anger, it was borderline _hateful._ He slowly walked toward her and she didn't move an inch from where she stood. There was an intense wind blowing, and every flash of lightning was shining in her eyes making her appear almost threatening.

Arnold froze, he thought they had maybe finally reconciled and now she was acting like this. He didn't understand it, but he wasn't willing to let her run away from him, not again.

"Helga, stop this. This isn't funny. I thought maybe you finally lov-,"

"Thought maybe I _what_ , Football Head?" she interrupted in a low and cold voice.

He only heard that voice from her one other time in his life. He was seething in anger at her now as words from the past seemed to echo all around him.

_"Just forget about me okay?"_

_"I don't want to hear from you."_

_"Stop calling me, stop texting me, stop thinking about me and lose my number."_

_"Don't call me anymore."_

She turned to walk away, and he ran around to the front of her to obstruct her escape.

"You're not leaving again! You don't get to fucking leave me again," he commanded, his green eyes were wild with rage as he screamed at her.

Helga continued to glare at him and her face was streaming with tears now. But he could only feel anger towards her now. How dare she destroy him again? He finally got to see her, dance with her, and touch her in ways he never had before. Why was she leaving now? His thoughts only further enraged him, his eyes swirled with possessiveness and fury.

"Stop crying," he demanded and she looked up at him painfully.

He reached out to take her by the arm to walk her back to his home and a blinding flash of lightning split the sky as he grabbed her. He was confused, nothing but air in his hands. A faint pink blur floated where Helga had just stood. He reached out to grab it but it simply floated away, eluding him as it always has. He felt tears in his eyes as he chased after it, his heart pounding in fear. _What have I done? I ruined her, I made her leave me again!_

A large thunderclap sounded and Arnold bolted upright. His chest was heaving and he was covered in sweat. He fumbled around his bed, and felt Helga's bare back still laying next to him. He sighed in relief and went to look at the time on his phone. _It's like three a.m., it was just a dream. Thank god it was just a dream._ He silently left the bed and exited his room, going to the bathroom. He tried to turn on the light but it was to no avail, _Guess the power's out,_ he thought and turned on the tap for the sink.

After splashing some cold water on his face, he made his way to the basement, using the light on his phone to guide him. He tried flipping the breakers on the power box but it was of no use. He found a switch to start up the generator, and flipped it before making his way back upstairs and into his bedroom.

He crept back into bed as stealthily as he could. Once he was under the covers he laid on his back, his hands under his head. The rain was still pouring ceaselessly outside and he watched it as he reflected on the strange and somewhat disturbing dream he just had. He knew his therapist was going to have a field day with all the shit he had gotten himself into over the course of the weekend.

He could feel himself lulling back to sleep and turned himself to face Helga's smooth back. He delicately traced little shapes into her skin with his fingers for a while before kissing her and slinging an arm around her. He inhaled her smell deeply and nestled close to her before falling back to sleep. Thankfully, dreams would not return to disturb him for the rest of the night.


	6. That Kid is Trouble

**All cast and characters of Hey Arnold! belong to creator Craig Bartlett.**

**Chapter 5: That kid is trouble**

Helga woke to nagging sunlight piercing the outside of her eyelids. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked around suddenly before realizing _, Oh yeah, I'm at the boarding house._ She felt a bit of a chill and saw the goosebumps kissing the skin of her naked torso. She quickly found the shirt she had been wearing of Arnold's from the night previous and pulled it over her head. Her movement had awakened the blonde boy next to her and she saw two emerald orbs peering up at her.

"Morning Football Head," she grumbled as she rubbed her tired eyes and exuded a yawn.

He didn't respond to her right away, just kept staring hard into her making her eyebrows knit together in annoyance. She just sighed and shook her head before flopping the comforter off of her and hoisting herself up out of bed. But she felt a hand clasp abruptly around her wrist before she could make it very far. She whipped her head around to glare at Arnold, whose eyes had narrowed a bit, examining her.

"Um, can I _please_ go to the bathroom Arnold?" She asked with an exaggerated eye roll.

Arnold's eyes widened and he immediately pulled away wordlessly as if his hand was suddenly burning from the contact. His cheeks flushed with a tint of pink and he averted his gaze. Helga still didn't understand this strange quirk of his, as well as some of his other odd behaviors, but she decided not to question him at that moment. They had given each other plenty of explanations, among other things, in the time they had spent that weekend.

Helga noticed that when he would grasp at her so suddenly and somewhat _desperately_ it didn't even seem like he was aware, almost as if it was a reaction. The strange stares he so often gave her had a felt that way as well. His eyes would lock onto her like they were boring holes into her, and tended to have a somewhat glazed over appearance. It always gave her the feeling that he was studying the deepest recesses of her, and while this gaze was always intense, she struggled to determine his exact expressions. She couldn't figure out if she was doing something to trigger him and was really struggling to figure out exactly what happened each time that led to his peculiar behaviors. Unfortunately she was no closer to an answer.

As she made her way across his room to open the door she glanced over and saw Arnold was now looking at the bright, overcast atmosphere outside the skylight. His gaze was a bit foreign and she found herself unable to read him, not that she wasn't used to that by now. She could tell he seemed a bit off, perhaps he was recounting the happenings of the night before but it was hard to say. She could certainly surmise that he seemed a bit melancholic as she grabbed her phone, closed the door to his room behind her and made her way to the bathroom.

Arnold gazed into the cloudy sky above him. The rain had slowed to a barely noticeable drizzle and the sun was trying to peek its way between the swirling masses of light gray above. Everything was so surreal to him and he felt dazed as he peered out into the veiled but bright sky.

What was that dream, anyway? He wasn't so dense that he didn't know that Helga's sudden presence was significant, and remembered her transforming into the ever elusive pink blur he was always pursuing. He still felt a tinge of anger and sadness from the way she acted, real or not. He knew he couldn't rationalize himself being angry at her in the real world, but the dream had always been something that felt powerful and profound, and it was hard for him to compartmentalize his emotions. Why now was she somehow tangled in this unconscious dreamscape? Of course he wasn't a stranger to nightmares, he had been plagued with them his whole life. Though usually they involved plane crashes, his parents and the dense South American jungle, not his blue-eyed childhood crush.

The fleeting and helpless feelings gnawed at him from within. While he felt relief knowing that Helga was still there and had never left his side all night, he was battling himself. Was this actually reality he was experiencing? He couldn't believe how quickly things had taken off, passion exploding between the two of them in haste like the aftermath of taking a match to a Roman candle. He had never touched or been touched like that, not really anyway. Every part of him that her hands felt had imprinted on him and still tingled on his skin.

Arnold forced his eyes to break sight from the gray hanging above him and grabbed his phone from the bedside table. He realized he hadn't even checked his phone since looking at the weather report the day before. He had two text messages, the first one was from Gerald which he opened right away.

"Hey man Phoebe told me you got Helga staying the night?! Dude what the hell are you thinking?!"

Arnold groaned and let his face fall into his hands, his eyes squeezed shut. What _was_ he thinking? He hadn't seen her in five years and they're already messing around? He was quickly realizing that somewhere along the line the two of them made a mistake. She shouldn't have stayed over, that much he was certain of, but on the other hand he couldn't turn her out into flash flood conditions. He was just being kind Arnold, _sweet_ Arnold. He chose to ignore everything that was the antithesis of those things: The greedy part of him that wanted to relive every intimate moment they shared over the last couple of days on repeat, and the carnal part of him that wanted to skip all that and throw her onto his bed like a ragdoll and feel himself inside of her.

"Ya she's here. I'll explain more later," he typed before hitting Send.

He went back into his inbox and frowned at the name of the sender of the unread message - Sid. He hesitated for a minute before pulling the text up.

"Yo I know u probably don't wanna talk to me rn but I really wanna talk about what happened at the party. Plz text me back so we can meet up."

Arnold hadn't yet really fully processed that he had punched Sid in the face. He remembered the stench of whiskey and the thousand yard, lustful stare Sid gave Helga, followed by the noxious utterances that came from his mouth. There was nothing she could have done to warrant such blatant disrespect, Arnold was still cognizant of himself enough to recognize that. He felt the anger welling up inside him again, but this time it had evolved into something much more - _possessiveness._ He chose to leave the message alone for now and placed his phone back on the bedside table.

Meanwhile in the bathroom, Helga did her business and looked at her reflection in the mirror as she washed her hands. She leaned over the sink and rubbed water over her face to freshen up. She was very glad she had chosen to wear braids the day before as her hair was relatively clean and tidy, all things considered. She decided to pull her hair out of the braids and let her waves frame her face like a golden mane. She saw a text from Phoebe sent that morning inquiring about the night, she replied saying she was fine and assured her friend that Arnold's precious innocence was still intact. She sighed after pushing Send, he was still very much a riddle to her, especially since she glimpses of his old self just as often as she did his new, brooding characteristics.

Helga could imagine being with him in more ways than one, but wondered how that would even begin to pan out. Despite her wishes, she couldn't help but feel it may be selfish of her to continue advancing any sort of relationship with him so quickly. Though that wasn't the only thing that was bothering her as she watched herself in the bathroom mirror.

She had replayed Gertie's warning to her several times in her head _, The fuck does she mean "be careful," is Football Head some kind of nut or something?_

She shook her head at the thought. Even though Arnold may be different in a lot of ways he still stuck up for her when it came down to it. A punch to the face wasn't something she ever would have expected out of eleven year old Arnold, however the nobility he displayed at the party was refreshingly familiar. From what Phoebe told her her first night back in town, he was growing to be self destructive and unpredictable. But how much has he truly lost of himself over the years? The thought worried her a little bit, certainly she didn't want to give more cause to these tendencies. If there was one thing she cared about over everything else in this world, it was Arnold's happiness.

She felt a bit of guilt sink in and decided right then that she was going to slow things down a bit between them. Helga hadn't tried to abandon her love for him five years ago in an attempt to pacify his feelings just for all of this to happen in her absence. It was very clear that they had gone overboard that weekend and she was scared things could become more messy than they already were. Afterall, how much could she really know about him after being absent from his life for five years?

Helga made her way back to his room, and noticed the distinct smell of bacon wafting up the stairs as she did. When she reentered the bedroom she saw Arnold laying in bed with his fingers laced under his head, watching the cloudy sky above him. She noticed that the rain had essentially stopped, giving her some relief that she may be able to go home today.

She felt awkward as her eyes fell back to him, _What's his deal, anyway? Is he...mad at me?_

Arnold felt Helga looking at him and turned to return her gaze, "You sleep okay?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah I did, thanks. How about you?"

He chuckled softly before replying, "Sure thing."

Helga could tell by the bags under his eyes that this was probably a lie, but his off behavior made her decide not to press it. Instead she took her phone out to look for any weather updates. The water level had only accumulated about six inches, and the worst damage done was some broken branches and mail boxes that were littered around the city, flooded basements and some power outages. The buses and subway services still appeared to be suspended for the day, along with the closures of several schools and businesses, but everything would resume as normal tomorrow. She remembered one flash flood that was particularly devastating and had left her along with several classmates stuck at school. Arnold being among them.

The memory caused a small smile to turn her lips, when Phil's voice and a knock at the door interrupted her reminiscing, "Hey you two! Up and at 'em, it's time for breakfast!"

"Coming grandpa!" Arnold called back before getting out of bed and moving past Helga to the door. He held it open and she exited the room with him behind her.

"I'm just gonna use the bathroom really quick, you go on ahead," he said with a weary smile to which Helga nodded before descending the staircase.

Upon entering the dining room, she noticed most of the tenants around the table talking and laughing over breakfast and coffee, as well as two empty place settings presumably for herself and Arnold. She sat at the table and was greeted with several "good mornings" from everyone. Gertie emerged from the kitchen with a glass of orange juice and a cup of coffee for Helga.

"Helen, how lovely of you to meet with the troops this morning! Do you care for any cream?" She asked, motioning to the mug she placed in front of Helga.

"I take it black, but thanks Gertie."

"I should have expected as much from a tough gal like yourself. Say, where'd ol' Kimba run off to?" She asked.

"Bathroom, he said he would be right down," Helga replied and took a sip from her mug.

There were several plates of various breakfast foods that Gertie told Helga to help herself to. She opted for a slice of cantaloupe, a small portion of scrambled eggs and a couple strips of bacon. Arnold had soon joined the table in the seat next to her and she noticed how exhausted he really looked now that they were in better lighting.

She elbowed him sharply in the ribs before whispering to him, "Christ bucko, what the hell happened? You look like shit."

Arnold frowned and lightly sighed, "Look I just had a few nightmares, but I'm fine. I can nap later so just don't worry about it.

Helga wasn't convinced but his face told her that he was not planning on elaborating. He had night terrors for as long as she could remember and it didn't feel right pressing him for more information. Suddenly Oskar appeared from the staircase looking very sluggish and speaking in a sickenly whiny tone.

"Susie what happened? Why didn't you wake me up? I'm hungry and now all the food is gone," he complained in a thick eastern European accent.

"Oskar I tried to wake you up but you wouldn't budge. Your alarm never went off because the power outage last night reset the clock," a thin woman with curly blonde hair responded.

"Oh yeah, the storm. Everything was tip-top this mornin', someone crank on the generator?" A short man named Ernie asked.

"I did, the storm must have tripped the power," Arnold explained.

Phil smiled and laughed, "Thanks for that, Short man. You really saved our bacon. Literally! But I didn't notice a power outage, must've happened pretty late. What were _you_ doing at that hour?"

Everyone around the table laughed and the two blondes blushed at the suggestive line of questioning.

"Y-yeah really Arnold, I didn't even know the power went out," Helga replied and Phil frowned in defeat upon hearing her words. Even though she knew that this was the truth, she somehow still felt like they had been caught.

Everyone quickly finished their breakfast and Helga and Arnold along with the tenants, minus Oskar who was apparently suffering from back problems, stayed behind to help clean up. The two blondes traipsed up the stairs after they finished. They decided to assess the streets before Helga headed home at her request and climbed the ladder to the rooftop.

Small amounts of rainwater had collected in some spots on the roof, but several downspouts had diverted any massive amounts of water into grates below. The streets were littered with papers, broken tree limbs and other various debris. Certainly the ground below was wet with several large puddles, but the majority of the rain that had fallen had flowed into the sewers. There were people working to clean up the roads and sidewalks, and a few cars drove carefully to avoid any obstacles from the storm's fury. Arnold looked over at Helga, her long untamed hair was curly from the braids she had slept in and she looked breathtakingly beautiful against the gray skies.

He knew their weekend alone was coming to an end shortly and he couldn't help feeling a little pensive about it. He remembered touching every part of her last night and found himself hungry for more contact. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, showering her neck with kisses.

Helga sighed contentedly, despite promising herself that she would try to slow things down a bit, it was hard for her to say no to the tender gesture. She decided that her promise and resolve to build a structurally sound relationship with Arnold at a reasonable pace could wait until she left the bubble that was the Sunset Arms boarding house. He held her tightly and they watched rays of the sun shine through the clouds of the overcast sky before Arnold drove her home in the green Packard.

* * *

Helga had returned home clad in Arnold's clothes which her parents did not seem to notice nor care about. She wouldn't take them off until school the next morning, she had decided. She had made contact with Phoebe that afternoon and they talked at length about the conversation Helga had with Arnold, as well as some of the other events that had taken place.

She chose to confide in Phoebe about the strange conversation that she had had with Gertie. This left her friend as perplexed as she was, she couldn't imagine why Arnold's own grandmother would be giving Helga some sort of ominous warning regarding her own grandson. Helga also made clear her intention to try to slow things down after the very heated weekend they had spent together, and Phoebe gave her overwhelming approval.

Towards the end they discussed Helga's first day of school and what her outfit choice might be. The two teens were excited for Helga to obtain her class schedule to see if they might share any courses together. Helga was most excited about the creative writing class she had taken and was very hopeful with her consistently high marks in English studies that she would get in. As a sophomore she was only allowed two electives, but sometimes with scheduling and starting later in the year classes could very well be full and she may be placed in something else.

She had wrapped up her conversation with Phoebe and was called to dinner by her parents. Deli chicken laid in a box on the counter and she made herself a plate, noting her parents planted in front of the TV to eat, and ascended the stairs back to her room. She pulled a pink notebook from her bookshelf, realizing she hadn't written a single thing since she had returned to Hillwood. She found her purple ink gel pen, something she always wrote with even as a child, and thought to herself as she scrawled words down on the page between bites of dinner.

Helga wanted to put to words exactly what sort of feelings she was having and quickly realized just how emotionally exhausted she truly was. Still, she knew that this was what grounded her and kept her from absolutely losing her fucking mind, so she thoughtfully allowed the words to materialize on the page.

_"A girl loved another more than she loved herself, and yet destruction was the ultimate gift she could give, to keep him intact._

_Or so she thought._

_The fire in their eyes and the smoldering of their hearts died the day she said goodbye._

_Or so she thought._

_Soon she would be forgotten and his world would spin forward, her memory thrust from him - body and soul._

_Or so she thought._

_Her return could prove to unravel the threads of fate previously woven together._

_Perhaps until now, she thought wrong."_

She sighed and closed the book, the poem felt wrong somehow, unfinished. She decided to leave it for now and instead focus on her outfit for the first day of school. Rhonda had texted her earlier already inquiring about her potential outfit choice for her first day of school, much to the annoyance of Helga. She flipped through her closet and her dresser drawers, and after putting several outfits together, finally decided on one.

She pulled out a pair of distressed high-waisted jeans that were a cropped ankle length, an oversized baby pink t-shirt she would wear tucked in, and her black combat boots. She also laid out a black flannel shirt that she could wear in case the weather decided to dick her again. She knew instantly that Rhonda would be less than impressed with her underwhelming outfit, so she coordinated a pair of large hoop earrings with the outfit to soften any tongue lashings she might receive for her plain tastes. Frankly, Helga was hoping to just blend in on her first day of school. She knew that there would be many, many fresh faces in attendance at Hillwood High, and she didn't need to attract any unwanted attention on her first day. At least this time around she had some friends she could rely on.

She prepared her backpack with all of the necessary school supplies and went downstairs to wash her dinner plate. She decided it would be wise to pack a lunch and made herself a sandwich. She added in an apple, some string cheese and crackers and had everything ready to go in a sack in the fridge. Suddenly, standing in the dark of her kitchen and realizing how much of the day had inexplicably escaped her, she felt the excitement of tomorrow overtake her. Sure she would have to wander the halls with a bunch of annoying ass people, but she had always enjoyed school and looked forward to seeing her old classmates. She yawned and went back upstairs where she brushed her teeth and fell onto her bed, slipping quickly into a comfortable sleep.

* * *

Tuesday morning Helga stood anxiously outside the doors of Hillwood High. She was thankful that the walk to school was relatively short, but standing here now made her wish her legs moved just a little bit slower. She sucked in a nervous breath and advanced into the foyer of the building. The hallways were still relatively barren at this time, she was told to show up early to receive her schedule. She tried to navigate as best as she could and was glad the main office was relatively easy to find. A small older woman with a big smile presented her with her schedule as well as her assigned locker number, and told her how the numbers for each classroom were laid out.

"That's about everything! You gonna need help finding your locker hon?"

"Eh no it's fine. You explained everything well enough. Thanks for the help, teach."

The woman smiled in reply and Helga found her way to her locker. She was happy to see that she managed to make it into creative writing, her first class after lunch, but would start her day off with Algebra II, _Fucking math this early? What a pain in the ass._

She suddenly noticed more and more bodies occupying the space around her as she organized her locker. Years ago she would have imagined herself secretly hanging a photo of a certain golden haired boy in it, and couldn't help but smile thinking that one day she might get one with the two of them instead. She sighed dreamily before feeling the presence of someone behind her. She rolled her eyes to herself before whipping around to see a raven-haired girl wearing a red, ruched bardot top with white capris that flared below the calves.

"Jesus christ princess you scared the shit outta me! Why'd you sneak up on me like that?" Helga asked harshly of her dear friend Rhonda Lloyd.

"Well sorry you're too busy staring at the back of your locker daydreaming to take notice of me, Pataki," she replied with a smirk. "I'm liking the jeans by the way. Our lockers are pretty close together, that's nice. So what's your first class anyway?"

"Uh, yeah thanks. First class is algebra with Mr. Charter."

"Oh I think Gerald is in that class. I'm in biology but they're on the same floor so I'll walk with you. Charter's a decent teacher, not a bad teacher considering that you have math first period."

"Criminy you're telling me. I was hoping to get something easy like English," Helga muttered in agreeance. "You know anyone else in that class?"

"Hm not off the top of my head. Of course Nadine and Phoebe are in honors classes so you can pretty much count them out. And Arnold has math with me, Harold and Sid."

Helga felt herself scoff at the sound of Sid's name coming from Rhonda's mouth.

"Still pretty pissed off, I take it?" Rhonda asked, pulling out a compact and examining her makeup covered face.

"Can you really blame me? He's a fucking slimeball it's too bad Football Head didn't have a better right hook."

Rhonda stopped walking and gave Helga a sly smile. Helga felt heat unwillingly fill her cheeks.

"W-what? What's that look for?"

"What happened after the party, anyway? You guys left together didn't you?"

Suddenly the sound of the warning bell echoed through the halls and Helga breathed a sigh of relief, _Saved by the bell, jesus._

She was close enough to her classroom that she could find it on her own so she bade a quick goodbye to Rhonda as she ran towards her class before her friend could protest. Helga made it to her classroom a couple of minutes early, and was happy to see the familiar face of Gerald sitting at a desk, as Rhonda said. She waved sheepishly and suddenly felt very awkward as she wasn't assigned a seat yet nor did she have a textbook to read from.

Her concerns were quickly abated when an older man with a goatee and a ponytail came into the classroom behind her. Stinky wandered in at some point, jabbing her with his elbow and offering a small wave. Mr. Charter happily introduced her to her bored looking peers, assigned her a desk behind Gerald and brought her a text book.

Most of her classes went on this way, the teacher would introduce her to the class and she would awkwardly stand in front of them like some kind of boring new toy before taking a seat. She had orchestra third period with Phoebe which she enjoyed. There wasn't a seating chart so that class quickly topped the list of her favorites so far. She had a few classes with her old P.S. 118 crew, but her question about not knowing anyone was answered as she looked at the unfamiliar faces around her. After the bell rang signalling the end of her music class, she bade Phoebe farewell and took out her schedule, making her way to her fourth period class.

_Goddamnit I have gym right before lunch? I'm gonna die of hunger at this rate._

She groaned and shoved her schedule in her backpack, trading it out for the duffel bag of gym clothes she had in her locker. The gym was large enough that it was pretty simple to locate. She found a sign to the girls locker room and entered, seeing the faces of Rhonda Lloyd and Patty Smith. Rhonda was already changing into tight fitting black yoga pants and a gray t-shirt, while Patty wore long blue basketball shorts and an oversized black cut off shirt.

Helga walked over to the two girls with a smile, "Thank god I have both of you in this class, there's so many randos I don't know here."

Patty and Rhonda smiled and chatted with Helga as she changed into her tight black shorts and washed out pink t-shirt. Rhonda suddenly shot Patty a look before turning back to Helga.

"Are you sure you want to wear that?"

"The fuck is that supposed to mean, princess? It's gym class," Helga snapped.

"Okaaay," Rhonda replied in sing-song. "Just a suggestion, you'll figure it out."

Before Helga could ask, their gym teacher (a tall, muscular woman named Mrs. Lumis) appeared in the locker room and ushered the girls up the stairs into the gym. Helga was confused, was that some kind of warning? Rhonda said she would figure it out, so she didn't think it necessary to try asking again.

The teacher instructed the girls to start off with some stretches while they waited for the boys to join the class. Helga was facing the bleachers doing a standing quad stretch when she heard a familiar voice talking behind her.

"And who do we have here? She's got a nice ass, right?"

Helga heard raucous laughter and turned to see Sid and Curly standing behind her. She felt her face go red with fury.

"Ah shit, Pataki? Shoulda known it was you, I pretty much have your body memorized after seeing you in that dress Saturday night," Sid said with a sneer and a smile that, in Helga's opinion, made his face exceptionally punchable. She couldn't help but notice his nose was extremely swollen and had taken on a dark purple color that framed the inside sockets of both eyes.

"Wait Pataki? _Helga Pataki_?! Since when do you go here? And when did you start looking like that? You're almost hotter than Rhonda," Curly exclaimed, looking over the top of his thick glasses for emphasis. Rhonda rolled her eyes and stuck her nose up in the air at the mention of her name.

"Oh Sid, you do something different to your face? You know purple really is your color, bucko. And Curly Gammelthorpe you're as vapid as ever, I see," she said and a chorus of laughter rang out from Patty and Rhonda.

Curly opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the teacher calling out for everyone's attention. Sid leaned close to Helga's ear, making her shiver uncomfortably.

"Y'know, I really wouldn't have minded if it was you who slapped me around instead of your little pussy boyfriend. Big fan of those shorts by the way, might make me skip this class a little less often."

"Remind me how much you don't mind it when I knock your fucking teeth out. And please, don't stop being a delinquent piece of shit on my behalf," Helga whispered back fiercely.

The teacher called Sid's name in warning and he jogged to the other side of the gym, turning to wink at Helga as he did. She thought her eyes would pop out of her head at the sight of him. Anger was absolutely boiling over as she felt a strong hand clap her shoulder. She whipped around furiously to face Patty.

"Whoa, easy there Pataki. What did he say to you just now?" Patty asked, cocking her head.

"He's an idiot just forget it. But if he thinks being at school will stop ol' Betsy from knocking him into next week, he's seriously mistaken."

Her eyes fell on him, he caught her gaze and puckered his lips into a kiss. She was gobsmacked at his audacity and flagrant disrespect. It wasn't the first time she was treated like this by guys at school, so it wasn't something totally foreign to her. After word got out that a football player "screwed her" she might as well have had a target on her back and became a frequent recipient of this kind of sleazy behavior. Never would she have thought it would be coming from someone she used to be childhood friends with, however.

Helga and her classmates proceeded with their physical education class, and she forced herself to completely shut out the presence of Sid. They ran circles around the gym floor and up and down the bleachers. Patty and Rhonda flanked her protectively, which she was grateful for, she didn't need to get into any trouble on her first day. Soon they had finished and were changing in the locker room. Helga applied some deodorant and fixed her hair before reapplying her earrings. The bell rang signalling lunch time and she retrieved her lunch from her locker, following Patty and Rhonda to the cafeteria.

She saw the small hand of her friend Phoebe Heyerdahl waving to her from across the cafeteria. Sitting with her was Gerald, but Arnold was nowhere to be seen. She figured maybe he decided to have lunch with some other friends to give Phoebe and Gerald some alone time, but was still slightly disappointed at his absence. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't seen Arnold all day. She took her phone out of her backpack, no new messages from him either. She put her phone into her pocket with a huff and strode across the cafeteria to sit with her friends, Patty and Rhonda joining her.

The five friends talked for a bit, Patty excused herself shortly after sitting down to go find Harold. Rhonda decided to stay and explained that Nadine participated in entomology club during lunch on Tuesdays. As soon as Patty had wandered away the table fell silent as everyone ate. Helga could see Rhonda eyeing her curiously out of the corner of her vision.

"Can I _help_ you?" Helga asked.

"Spill it Pataki. You have a lot to catch me up on. What happened after the party? And what did Sid say to you during gym class?"

Phoebe and Gerald quickly looked up from their lunch and were also staring at Helga now.

 _Lloyd you fucking rat,_ she thought before sighing in defeat.

"Sorry to disappoint you but nothing happened after the party. We fought and Gerald took me home, the end."

Phoebe cocked her head and raised an eyebrow, "Well technically Helga, that's not quite accurate. You failed to inform Rhonda that you did in fact spend the following night with Arno-,"

 _"Phoebe!"_ Helga hissed and slapped her hand to her forehead. Rhonda's eyes grew wide at the information.

"You _spent the night?!"_ Rhonda practically yelled, earning strange looks from the people around them.

"For crying out loud can you keep it down?" Helga pleaded in a soft, angry voice. "Okay _yes_ I spent the night at his house, but I had no choice thanks to the flood."

"So...what. You two dating now?" Gerald asked.

Helga sighed, "No we are not _dating_. Just talking I guess, I don't know what we are, alright?"

Gerald mumbled his reply, "Sounded like y'all did a lot more than just talk."

Helga groaned and Rhonda laughed at Gerald's words.

_I'm going to kill Arnold._

Phoebe still had an eyebrow raised and had never taken her eyes from her.

"Helga what was Rhonda referring to when she asked you about Sid just now?" Phoebe asked.

Helga could have choked the life out of Rhonda for that. Why the sudden interest in her? Didn't they have anything better to do?

"Ugh literally nothing he was just being a disgusting weasel which is his new M.O., apparently."

Phoebe didn't look convinced but she noticed Helga's eyes motioning to Gerald and decided to leave it at that. Clearly this was something she didn't want him to go running to Arnold about. Phoebe knew Helga well enough to know that this was a conversation for a later time. Helga was relieved when the conversation shifted. Gerald and Rhonda talked about the upcoming football game, they both talked excitedly about it. Likely because Gerald was on the team and Rhonda was in the cheerleading squad. Phoebe and Helga looked over the rest of Helga's schedule, and were disappointed to see that they didn't have any more classes together. In fact, she didn't have classes with any of her friends sitting at the table. Helga mentally crossed her fingers and hoped that a certain black haired little freak was also absent from the rest of her class schedule.

Soon the bell rang, indicating the end of the lunch period. Helga collected her lunch box and the four friends said their goodbyes. Or at least she thought they had, but quickly realized a small girl in a dark blue shirt dress was walking at her side.

"Helga I trust you are getting around the school okay. What's your next class?" Phoebe asked.

"Yeah it hasn't been too bad, the numbers on each floor make enough sense. And I have creative writing, thank god. What about you?"

"I'm on my way to honors biology, as a matter of fact. Are you going to be able to find your classroom okay?" Phoebe asked.

"Yeah, I should do just fine. Thanks Pheebs, I'll see ya after school," Helga replied.

Phoebe waved goodbye to her friend as she ascended the staircase to the science classrooms upstairs. Helga made a turn towards the arts wing and found her creative writing class as the warning bell rang, she was the first to arrive. The teacher was in the classroom sitting at her desk and greeted her with a small smile. She was a shorter, slender woman - probably in her fifties with shoulder length dark gray hair and introduced herself as Mrs. Dorrant.

The desks we're all arranged in a circle, Helga smiled to herself remembering her fourth grade year when Mr. Simmons had been hired and had insisted on trying to seat the entire class this way. Of course back then they were unruly little children, hell-bent on torturing their new teacher. There were only about ten desks or so, Helga was expecting this to be a pretty full class but was happy to see the opposite. This period was the only time the creative writing class was offered and was a mix of lower and upperclassmen. There was a bit of relief knowing the class would be this low key.

Mrs. Dorrant told Helga to seat herself wherever she was comfortable. She explained that the class had been assigned to write about a memory. There were no structural obligations, only that they were encouraged to use descriptive writing and try to incorporate metaphors and similes to capture anything associated with the memory: sounds, smells, colors, feelings. She apologized, telling Helga that today was actually the day everyone was to present their pieces. Helga just shrugged and smiled, she certainly didn't mind just sitting back and listening to her peers' literary pieces. It took some of the pressure off of her, anyway.

The class room started to slowly fill with students who all bore notebooks, flipping to pages that Helga assumed were all the memories they had chosen to write about. She noticed that most of the students filing in were upperclassmen, and was surprised to see almost as many boys as there were girls. A lot of times with these types of courses, girls tended to dominate for whatever reason. Not that that was a bad thing, but she always liked hearing the differences in writing styles, and certainly little-smiley-Susie wrote much differently than smokes-behind-school-Steven.

One desk still remained open right next to her as the final bell chimed. Helga decided to take out her notebook and have a page ready, just in case she was instructed to take any notes or needed to make note of an assignment. She leaned over the side of a desk and suddenly heard a low voice in her ear that made her jump.

"No one told me the new girl was so beautiful."

She turned her head sharply to see Arnold, who was already sitting in the desk beside her with a devilish grin occupying his face. She rolled her eyes but couldn't help smiling. The teacher still appeared to be getting some papers organized at her desk, so Helga seized the opportunity and whispered back at him.

"Wait, _you're_ in this class? I missed you at lunch, where were you?"

Arnold shrugged his reply, the mischievous grin still plastered on his face, as the teacher strode across the room and sat in a chair in the middle of the circle of desks. He dug a notebook out of his backpack and opened it up. The teacher reminded everyone of the assignment they would be presenting and started with a boy in a red shirt in front of her, and instructed everyone to read in a circle from there.

Helga couldn't help but feel her eyes flitting to Arnold. She wasn't paying attention to any of the students' stories. Arnold didn't appear to notice until after about the fiftieth time he finally caught her eyes on him. He held her gaze for a bit and then looked away. Helga noticed something seemed off, and not in the usual Arnold way she had grown accustomed to.

_Is he fucking high right now?_

She couldn't be completely sure, but his glossy, half-lidded eyes weren't typical by any means. It made sense though, since he didn't make an appearance during lunch and had arrived late to class. She was wondering who he could have been with, there were plenty of people who smoked, lots of people their age did. Sure, she smoked at parties or on the weekends from time to time but she couldn't help being annoyed by it, they were in school after all.

Finally the time came for Arnold to read his memory out loud. The students did not have to elaborate on what the memory they had written about was. Some students were fairly straightforward in what they were describing, others used more abstract descriptors in their pieces. His eyes fell to the page, and Helga thought she saw him look at her briefly from his peripheral before he cleared his throat to speak.

"The smell of foreign fauna clung to the inside of my nostrils as I traversed the spongy floor of green under my feet. Sweat poured from my skin, creating salty creeks that streamed down my face, my neck, my back. Exotic chirrups echoed from my ears down to my brain, their strange sounds creating an ever growing mountain of fear in my chest. Darkness was quickly setting in, and threatened to completely cloak the orange glow of the setting sun,"

Helga was completely enamored by Arnold's story. She had no idea that he could write _anything_ , let alone something halfway decent. She continued listening as he recalled feeling thick air and her heart skipped a beat at the mention of "eerie green eyes shining in the dark."

_San Lorenzo? Christ way to pick the most obvious cliché memory ever, Football Head._

She couldn't help smiling to herself. Of course it made total sense, it was probably one of the most precious memories he had.

"A golden haired girl with fierce blue eyes and a heart of gold unlocked the most precious treasure imaginable. She helped me find the most elusive part of myself," he paused before finishing. "She helped me find love, but it wasn't long before that too eluded me."

A small round of applause went around the room. Helga's eyes were wide as Arnold closed his notebook, placing it into his backpack. There were only a couple students left, but Helga didn't hear a word they said. She kept her eyes glued anywhere but on Arnold. Guilt once again built up inside of her, but hearing his heartfelt memory that he had penned made it ten times worse than before. Tears threatened her eyes and she suddenly raised her hand. The teacher nodded at her in acknowledgement.

"M-may I use the restroom p-please?"

Mrs. Dorrant looked at her thoughtfully for a moment before giving her approval and instructing her to take the hall pass by the door. Helga quickly walked out of the classroom and ran to the nearest bathroom she could find as soon as her feet hit the hallway floor. She quickly took refuge in a nearby girls restroom and locked herself in a stall. She could no longer hold back the tears, and they started pouring out of her.

_I'm a horrible person. I'm a horrible, shitty human being. I fucked him up, I fucked him up, I fucked him up._

Helga sobbed for a few minutes before the tears finally started to stop. She felt a little bit better, she hated crying like a giant baby but listening to _that_ from _him_ was just too much. Writing for her was always so emotional, she literally poured her feelings into the pages of notebooks. Just that one sentence hit her harder than anything he had said to her thus far. However she knew she needed to pull herself together, she didn't want to get in trouble for being gone too long. She exited the stall and looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were a bit puffy, so she splashed some cold water on her face to diminish her swollen appearance.

 _Thank god for waterproof mascara,_ she thought and took a deep breath before exiting the bathroom and walking back to the classroom. She made it there relatively quickly, hung the hall pass back up beside the door and retreated to her desk. Arnold stared at her as she slumped in her seat. Mrs. Dorrant welcomed Helga back and told the class that for their next assignment they were to write three haikus. The haikus could be about anything, and they were to be read aloud to the class Friday afternoon. Helga made a note of the assignment in her notebook, all the while ignoring the feeling of a pair of eyes examining her. When the bell rang signalling them to leave, Helga scooped up her backpack and left as quickly as possible.

Helga hurried down the hallway not knowing where she was going. She opened her backpack to retrieve her notebook where she had stuck her schedule and froze. It wasn't there. _Criminy can't I ever catch a break?!_

She turned around to gather her notebook from her creative writing classroom and found herself face-to-face with Arnold. They stared at each other and he held up the notebook Helga was about to go back for.

"Hey you uh, you left your notebook," he handed it to her and then continued. "I don't want to press you or anything but are you okay? You look like you've been crying or something."

"Me, _crying_? That's ridiculous Football Head. I mean come on, what would I be crying for?"

"Well I don't really know I guess," Arnold lied.

Suddenly Helga thought of something and abruptly pulled him into a corner with her beside some lockers. Her voice was quiet as she spoke.

"Listen, Arnold. I don't want you to lie to me right now, are you stoned?"

His eyes grew wide for a minute and then he started laughing uncontrollably. That certainly wasn't the reaction she expected but she was getting used to him surprising her.

"How the fuck did you know?" He asked, still laughing.

"Come on, I'm not an idiot Arnoldo. But…why? Is it really such a good idea to sit through all your classes like that?" She asked.

He still had a smile on his face, clearly not bothered by her questions, "I mean, probably not. It's not really a big deal though, I do it all the time."

"All the time? What do you mean?"

"Okay so not _all_ the time, sometimes I don't bother going to class. But I mean, you know. Might as well enjoy myself if I'm going to be here," he answered matter-of-factly.

"But aren't you scared of getting caught? Or doing shitty in class? What if someone finds out and tells?" She almost couldn't believe how casual he was being about this.

"I mean, I guess I don't really think about all that. Why, are _you_ gonna tell?" Now he was starting to get annoyed, but Helga wasn't one to back down.

"I'm not a snitch, Arnold. But you're gonna get caught if you keep it up. And you shouldn't be cutting class, you're being an idiot."

Arnold rolled his eyes in response.

"Did you just roll your fuc-"

"Yeah. Yeah I did. Now you know how the rest of us feel," he muttered, but a small smile cracked his face. "I get it, okay? Sometimes this is just my way of getting through the day. I promise it's not a big deal."

Helga wasn't convinced but the lopsided smile he was giving her made her heart beat so wildly she couldn't bring herself to continue scolding him.

"A-alright. Just try to tone it down, would ya? You can't afford to space out anymore than you already do," she said with a smirk.

"Deal. Now are we going to talk about why you were crying?"

Helga shook her head at him.

"Well can I walk you to class, then?" He asked, his face hopeful.

"Yeah fine, whatever. Looks like I have bio next in room 308."

"After you," he replied with a goofy grin, and motioned her to the side. She laughed and they walked wordlessly to her next class, only breaking the silence to say goodbye.

* * *

Arnold had no intention of attending his last two classes. He could feel himself growing tired from his come-down and knew he'd be lucky to stay awake through Mr. Clooney droning on and on about U.S. History. And god forbid biology seventh period keep him awake even when he was stone cold sober. Not only that but he had a prior engagement he was obligated to. He passed by his locker to grab his blue hoodie before nonchalantly leaving through the rear doors of the school.

He had a very strong inkling that his creative writing piece may have been what triggered Helga's sadness. He felt bad about that, and he probably should have known she would take that class. But the truth was that he had written most of that story Friday during work time in class. He had no idea that barely four days later she would be sitting next to him, hearing every word. As bad as he felt for upsetting her, a part of him was sort of glad she was made to listen. Even though he couldn't exactly fault her for something she did as an eleven year old child, resentment still clung to him. It felt necessary that she be his audience.

He would have to table these thoughts for another day, however. He walked at a steady pace and took his phone out to check the time: 2:14 p.m. This wasn't a meetup he was exactly thrilled about. He was annoyed that he was even doing this, especially after his talk with Helga. She might not be so thrilled about him cutting class for this, but he was if nothing else a man of his word. He saw the skatepark come into view along with a kid in a black denim vest with patches and a backwards hat sitting on a bench smoking a cigarette.

Arnold calmly strolled up to him. He could barely stand the sight of Sid now and it made him replay the night of Rhonda's party on a loop in his mind. Walking up to him and wanting to choke the life out of him was quite the contrast to the two of them snorting pills and drinking beer just barely a week ago. Sid noticed him and gave a small nod, scooting over to allow the blonde boy to sit next to him.

Arnold plopped down on the bench, Sid offered him a cigarette and lighter. He wasn't one to usually smoke a cigarette, generally he would only do so if he had been drinking and had a decent buzz going. But he had a feeling he might need one to take the edge off and lit it wordlessly before handing the lighter back. The two sat like that for a while, not exchanging any words as they puffed on their tobacco. Finally a sigh broke the silence and Sid was the first to speak.

"Guess we should talk now that you're here."

Arnold didn't respond, he simply stared forward, only moving to put the orange filter to his lips.

"Look man, I don't wanna fight with you. But I will say this, punching me in the face? I mean, c'mon that's pretty fucked up to do to your boy. Especially over some pain-in-the-ass chick," Sid took a long drag of his cigarette and flicked the butt away. He immediately took out another one and sparked it up. "You didn't even get this upset when I slept with Lila. I don't get it."

Arnold cringed. _Lila._ Their whole relationship had been nothing short of a joke. He still didn't understand why he even started going out with her to begin with, she was pretty enough sure, but she may have been one of the most boring people on the planet. Their relationship was one that happened out of loneliness and need, nothing more. They both were dealing with fucked up parents at the time, so it was something that they used to relate to one another.

Lila's mom, who had been absent most of her life, had suddenly taken her father to court to battle over custody. Her mother had a gambling problem and was extremely unstable emotionally, so thankfully nothing came of it in the end. The court battle was still arduous and nasty, and Lila was extremely distraught over the whole thing. She was always the quiet, almost submissive type, no doubt due to the constant barrage of insults she endured from her mother growing up.

It was around this time Arnold's parents had started dealing with their own issues. They had become increasingly paranoid as their time in the city progressed. They even grew suspicious of everyone living in the boarding house, including Arnold and his grandparents. The day he accidentally startled his mother and she pulled a knife on him was the day they agreed to go to in-patient at a psychiatric facility to get help.

Arnold and Lila had started dating at the beginning of the school year in eighth grade, and it only took a couple of months for things to turn sour. Arnold was still mending a broken heart when his parents had completely spiralled. Where he had once taken a step forward he had suddenly taken several back and he struggled to cope with the abandonment and anger he felt. He couldn't say the exact moment when he started drinking himself into oblivion, but he did so almost always with Harold, Sid and Stinky.

Lila was less than impressed. She had always been a pretty good kid, the occasional drink didn't bother her so much but she couldn't take Arnold when he was binge drinking. He was about as emotionally unavailable as one could expect at the time. Where at first they were able to empathize and build each other up in their relationship, that had soon crumbled completely. Lila had grown very disdainful having to constantly babysit a drunk teenager rambling on about his ex-girlfriend and crazy parents. She was completely drained from trying to care for someone who only acknowledged her when he needed something, while she too was suffering at the hands of her parents' issues.

The night Lila hooked up with Sid was not a good one. Friday nights for Harold, Sid, Stinky and Arnold almost always meant trying to find a party or a bonfire to attend. Sid's parents weren't exactly the most attentive or encouraging growing up, and neither one of them seemed to have any qualms about buying beer for a bunch of middle schoolers. That night, the boys managed to find a party at their old friend Lorenzo's house, whose parents were out of town on business. Arnold had managed to convince Lila to come with, assuring her that it would be a good time. The five boys decided they wanted to get an early start, and already had a decent buzz going by the time the other guests had arrived.

Most of the party-goers were their childhood friends from P.S. 118, minus Gerald who was out of town for his sister's ballet recital, with a few unfamiliar faces from middle school scattered in the crowd. Lila was among one of the last ones to show up, and Arnold had clearly been drinking beyond what anyone else around him was. Harold, Stinky and Sid were having fun spinning him around and encouraging his drunken behavior. Eventually though, he was very far gone and was becoming a nuisance. He vaguely could remember having a fight with Lila, who scolded him for having drank too much again. He knew later someone had said something to him about his _girlfriend_ , which confused him in his stupor, thinking he was being asked about Helga. He didn't remember leaving the party, but he remembered stumbling down the street inconsolably upset.

At some point in his blacked out state, he had decided to call Lila. All he could remember was breaking down, sobbing and struggling to breathe, but somehow still managing to yell into the phone. He recalled at one point Helga's name was the only thing his mouth would allow him to say. He was told the next morning that Stinky had gone out to find him and walked him home, and that he appeared to be having some sort of fit or panic attack. Sid had convinced Lila to stay behind, saying she should be around friends after having such a rough night. Somehow he charmed her into bed with him, maybe because she was yearning for the affection that Arnold would never be able to give her. He never bothered asking her the reason.

The day after the party the two had met up and Lila told him what happened with Sid. They both decided it was best that they go their separate ways. Arnold couldn't really blame her for what she did. She told him ultimately she couldn't be with someone who was so broken and who couldn't offer her even a shred of what she needed in return. He was relieved more than anything, he knew he was a lousy boyfriend and he couldn't honestly be bothered to give a shit about her. He was surprised the breakup didn't happen sooner, and quite frankly it wasn't anything that shocked or surprised him.

Sid's participation on the other hand was another story. Arnold was upset that his friend would do something so shady behind his back, but at the time just chalked it up to alcohol, Lila's hurt feelings and teenage lust. Now he was really starting to get it though. Sid did whatever he wanted to without any regard or respect to those around him. Arnold already forgave him once, but he wasn't so keen on doing so a second time.

There was another part of him that wondered if maybe he was judging Sid a bit too harshly. He never actually tried anything with her, not anything that Arnold was aware of anyway. So why was he so angry over a drunken comment? He remembered the day he first saw Helga at Slausen's with Sid, Arnold reacted just as fiercely then, but it didn't seem right to fault him for that either. Sure he was being pretty creepy, but it wasn't like he was stopping himself from ogling her in that low-cut dress, either.

Despite the fact that he could have pummeled Sid several times over, at this point how justified would it be? His brain told him to keep an eye on him, his heart said to beat the life out of him, and his instincts said not to trust him. However there was another problem that would weigh into the equation as well: Sid had dirt on him. He would have to err on the side of caution, some of this was stuff that not even Gerald knew about.

Arnold realized he still hadn't spoken yet, his cigarette had burnt down almost to the filter. He snubbed it out on the sidewalk and looked at Sid. His green eyes swirled with primal rage, but his expression and voice remained level and calm.

"It's just...it's _her_ ya know? Helga. She might be a pain-in-the-ass but…"

 _But what?_ He asked himself as his voice trailed off. Sid cocked his head to the side and lifted a brow at Arnold.

"Arnold, man it makes sense if she's your girlfriend or whatever-"

"She's _not_ my girlfriend. I dunno what she is but it's not that," Arnold muttered and looked away. Sid smiled internally.

"Oh shit, really? I'll be honest, what I said was kinda messed up. But I was just trying to cheer you on man, I swear! I should have known better than to say that in front of Pataki though," Sid lied, clapping a hand on Arnold's shoulder in feigned reassurance.

Arnold was tempted to break every single finger that was touching him. He couldn't though, Sid seemed sorry enough. It wouldn't be right. He also couldn't afford to have this kid as an enemy right now, this was not the time to be impulsive. He squeezed his eyes shut to compose himself.

"It's fine Sid, really. Thank you for saying that. I'm sorry too. I don't know what it is about her that makes me act so...weird."

"Let's be honest, if you didn't hit me she would have anyway," he rubbed his nose absentmindedly. "She really does get you fucked up though, doesn't she? Probably a good thing you're not dating."

"What d'you mean?"

"C'mon Arnold. It's been _five_ _years_ of you acting like a psycho over Pataki. And don't take this the wrong way but if she didn't want you in all that time, why would she now? And even if she does, once she finds out about a lot of the shit you've been doing-"

"You planning on telling her?" Arnold's eyes shot daggers into Sid, _You goddamn weasel._

"Dude what the hell? Of course not. But you can't keep all this shit to yourself forever. She's a smart girl, eventually she is going to find out."

Arnold was seething with anger. Who did this little prick think he was? He had a lot of nerve calling him a psycho and implying that he and Helga couldn't be together. He wasn't completely ignorant to the possibilities, but he hadn't exactly fully played out how things would happen in his head.

"Relax. It's not the end of the world, there's still plenty of girls out there. She's not anything special, not really anyway. If this stuff really is a deal breaker, find someone else. Broads here are a dime a dozen."

Sid had a point. Arnold could feel his anger fade from a raging inferno to a tiny lick of flame. It felt like someone put a weight on his chest, smothering his fury. He had been questioning how viable a relationship would be with Helga before. He thought about how angry she was with him for implying that he only wanted to sleep with her, surely she was hoping for something more meaningful...right?

But now sitting here thinking about it, even if by chance after five years she still loved him, could she still feel that way about him knowing he isn't that person anymore? Their weekend rendezvous told him that it was a possibility, but what if she _does_ find out everything? What would happen then? Say she never did find out, would it be wrong to keep these things from her? He didn't even know if he _wanted_ things to progress at all, has he just been holding onto the happy memories he had, most of which revolved around her?

Arnold wasn't so sure Sid would stick by his word, either. But he couldn't threaten him, that would only give him more incentive to talk. He couldn't help silently wondering why Sid was concerned with their relationship anyway. He knew the boy was a master manipulator, but maybe he was just genuinely trying to be a good friend. The best Arnold could do was to try and trust him now. The situation was frustrating, but he was at a standstill. He could be honest with her now, that would eliminate a lot of his anxiety, but he wasn't sure if it was worth discussing so early on. He wasn't completely convinced they could be an item but he also didn't want to derail the potential. He still had feelings for her after all.

"Oh she's definitely special," Arnold finally said. "The problem is that I'm not."


	7. Night in the Woods

**All cast and characters of Hey Arnold! belong to creator Craig Bartlett.**

**Chapter 6: Night in the woods**

_Come on, 3:15!_

Helga was finally nearing the end of her first day of school at Hillwood Highschool. It didn't exactly play out the way she expected, she couldn't have guessed she would have broken down crying during her favorite class or had to deal with Sid so soon. All things considered, the day actually played out with relative ease in comparison to the last high school she attended. She carefully snuck her phone out of her pocket, careful so as not to catch the eye of her English teacher Ms. Morin. Only three minutes left until freedom. It was while checking the time that she noticed a text message from a number she didn't recognize.

"Hey Pataki it's Gerald I got your number from Phoebe. We were gonna play catch at Gerald Field after school, you want in?"

Helga tried to keep her happiness at bay as she read the text message, she didn't want to blow her cover to the teacher.

"Sure sounds good I'll meet you guys there!" She pressed send and her thoughts distracted her from the last few minutes of remaining class time.

_I wonder if Football Head's coming? Shit I shoulda asked where his locker was earlier so I could find out. Should I text him, would that be weird? Although if everyone else is going I'm sure he'll be there._ Her eyes widened and then narrowed into a loathsome glare, _Is Sid going?_

The bell chimed indicating that class had finally ended and Helga quickly went to her locker to retrieve any textbooks or supplies needed for her homework load. She didn't want to lose any time spent with her old classmates so she decided against stopping off at home first. She had dreamed of the day her and her friends could play catch again since the day she left Hillwood.

Helga figured she would be able to navigate there on her own. Gerald Field was relatively close to Slausen's where she had met with Phoebe just a few days prior. It was a little bit of a trek but the weather was decent enough she didn't mind. She slammed her locker shut and began her journey, almost giddy at the thought of reconnecting with her old classmates, and pushing the thought of Sid as far out of her mind as possible.

She only made it about ten minutes from the school when she heard a familiar voice calling out to her.

"Hey Helga wait up!"

She turned to see a tall, gangly boy behind her, jogging to catch up. The boy finally closed the distance between them, his hands on his knees once he was finally caught up to her, panting heavily.

"Stinky, you're a sight for sore eyes. You heading to the lot?"

"Yeah," he talked between breaths. "Gerald said he'd be invitin' ya of course. You wanna walk together?"

"Sure what the hell, since we're both heading that way," she responded and gave him a hearty clap on the back.

Stinky smiled at her, finally erected to a standing position and the two teens headed towards their childhood playground.

"Aw man, I can't wait to play some catch! It's been a while, ya know?" She said, winding her arm and shoulder, stretching out the joints. "I can't wait to see Arnold's crappy throwing arm again."

Stinky raised an eyebrow at her, a puzzled expression painted his face.

"Uh, ya know that this ain't exactly Arnold's thing anymore, don'tcha?"

"Oh, uh I guess I didn't realize…"

She didn't know what else to say to that. Certainly she did in the back of her mind remember Phoebe mentioning something about Arnold quitting all of his previous normal activities - baseball being one of them. She couldn't help feeling a little disappointed, half of the fun when they were kids was Helga playing catcher for Arnold. When they got a little older they even worked on some pretty awesome calls and were dynamite as a team.

_That's right. He isn't exactly that person anymore._

Stinky could sense Helga's sudden morose demeanor and offered a small smile.

"But I mean, ya never know right? Maybe he changed his mind," he said.

Helga felt in her heart of hearts that that would not be the case, but it felt better to play along than it did to wallow in her sadness.

"Y-yeah sure. I mean why the heck wouldn't he, this is like a family reunion for cripes sakes!"

The two teens smiled their fake smiles at each other and walked silently for a bit. Helga remembered Phoebe indicating that Stinky along with Harold had managed to better themselves after a couple years of living on the edge, sans Sid and Arnold. Everyone still seemed to have remained friends though, considering but that offered her little solace. She felt a bit strange, knowing that Stinky and Harold were a few notches above do-good Arnold on the morality totem. That's something she never would have expected. Stinky pulled her from her thoughts with a question.

"Hey Helga, what d'you think of Sid?"

She frowned at him, not exactly a fan of the question. "Uh I guess I _don't_ think about him, Stinky. Why?"

"Well I just thought it was mighty strange that he and Arnold came to blows at Rhonda's. Sid wasn't exactly fittin' to tell us everything that happened, neither. I thought maybe you two had some kinda problem, not sayin' it's your fault or nothin'," he responded.

"The only one who has a _problem_ is Sid. He's lucky that it was Arnold who hit him and not me," she muttered.

She hoped this conversation wasn't one that would come back to bite her. She always genuinely liked Stinky, he had a good heart even if he wasn't exactly the brightest kid. However she didn't expect to come home to a totally different Arnold Shortman or an obnoxious childhood friend either. Clearly she needed to reassess her preconceived notions about _any_ of her old circle of friends. Stinky had something of a punk rock edge to him now, but the way he talked was still absolutely and authentically him.

"Helga about Sid, he say somethin' to ya? Somethin' fuckin' stupid? That why Arnold clocked him?"

Helga almost laughed at how perceptive Stinky was.

"Nothing gets past you, does it? Yeah, he was being a total creep as a matter of fact. Arnold was just trying to teach him a lesson, he didn't do anything wrong."

"I think I get what ya mean and I reckon it sounds like he deserved it," he said, shaking his head in disapproval. "Can't say it's the first time he's acted less than civilized around a pretty lady. Ain't the first time he's been knocked around for it, neither."

"Well do you know why? Has anyone tried talking to him?" She asked.

"All of us, probably. Harold and I for sure, anyway. He got jumped by some upperclassmen at the beginning of the summer after Wolfgang found out he was makin' some kinda pass at his girl at a party. He's got a bit of a reputation, really. The kid chases pussy like it's going outta style and then wonders why that doesn't sit well with some people," Stinky smiled a little awkwardly. "Sorry I uh, probably shouldn't talk like that in front of a lady."

Helga erupted in ferocious laughter, "Christ Stinky it's me you're taking to, not Mother Theresa. Well what ended up happening after that? Clearly he hasn't figured it out yet."

"Y'ain't wrong there. And basically nothin', he just laughed it off. But he did seem like he was toning it down some. At least I thought he was…" Stinky trailed off a little at the end as he spoke.

Helga could hear the disappointment in his words. She knew there was probably a lot he was keeping in but she didn't have the heart to pry that information from him. Sid was his friend, they'd been friends since before preschool just like her and Phoebe. And while it was clear he didn't care for his friend's actions, he still cared about him as a person. Really it said a lot about Stinky that he obviously wanted his friend to make good choices and be a better person. It was like Gerald and Arnold or her and Phoebe.

They finally approached Gerald Field and saw their friends had already gathered. All of them were boys which came as no surprise to her. Nadine and Sheena used to come along sometimes but Helga figured that they were busy with extracurriculars. Rhonda wouldn't be caught dead playing in the dirt and Phoebe wasn't exactly athletically gifted. Gerald and Harold were there, and even Iggy and Lorenzo had shown up. She smiled and gave Stinky a playful punch to the shoulder.

"You still got that killer throwing arm, Stinky?" She asked.

He smiled, "Depends. You still the best catcher in Hillwood?"

The two waved at their friends and found an old ball to toss around to each other, reliving the hay-day of their childhood. For even just this moment, they were all able to laugh, play and joke around. Just like they used to, before everything had gotten so complicated.

* * *

The remainder of the school week went by fairly routinely. Despite a rough first day, Helga was content with the way the rest of the week turned out. She sat with Phoebe, Gerald, Rhonda and Nadine pretty regularly for lunch time with Harold and Patty joining them on one occasion. She hadn't seen or heard from Arnold much even outside of lunchtime. It's not that she was necessarily _avoiding_ him, but she needed to settle into school and felt obligated to tend to her old friendships.

Not only that, but even if she wanted to talk to Arnold, he wasn't exactly the easiest person to find. He might have also been a bit annoyed at her after she briefly called him out for skipping creative writing class on Wednesday. She noticed how he made a point to not only show up for the remainder of the week, but he was even coming in _early._ Despite their one class together, they were either working on their haiku assignment or their teacher was lecturing them on the history and applications of haiku poetry in Japan, and Friday was the day they were to present their pieces. That didn't give them a lot of time to speak to one another.

Sid was acting fairly benign, which gave Helga some relief. Thankfully, she only had to deal with him for 45 minutes of her day anyway. He seemed to be paying her no mind during gym class, which was the best scenario she could hope for. She wondered if maybe Stinky had said something to him regarding their conversation, or perhaps he had simply grown bored with teasing her.

Phoebe, Rhonda, Nadine and herself had even made a trip to the library after school on Thursday. That had been mostly at Nadine and Phoebe's suggestion, but regardless Helga was happy to be included. Though Rhonda was a bit of a distraction with her never-ending gossip and storytelling.

The final bell rang Friday afternoon, indicating the week had finally come to an end. Helga hummed to herself as she swapped out the necessary books and supplies for her weekend homework. She closed her locker and gasped as she turned around, and her body clenched up against her locker door. A blonde-headed boy gave a mischievous smirk and a chuckle at her reaction.

"For fuck's sake wear a bell or something around your neck Hair Boy," she growled.

"Sorry!" He replied as he laughed. "I just saw you by your locker and thought I'd come say hi. We haven't really been able to talk much this week."

Helga scoffed and gave him a smug smile, "Aw what? You miss me or something?"

Arnold leaned his shoulder against the locker, crossing his arms. His face was almost touching Helga's, she could feel his warm breath on her. Her heart was pounding against the back of her rib cage and she had to force herself not to look so surprised at his sudden closeness to her.

"Maybe I did, that a problem?" He said, his smile growing larger.

He advanced his face ever so slightly towards hers. Their lips were almost touching and she could feel herself being pulled to him, like a powerful static cling.

"God damn, can you two get a fuckin' room?" Gerald asked, his face contorted in disgust.

"Yeah, criminy Arnold," Helga exclaimed and gave him a quick shove. Her face was clearly flushed and she couldn't disguise her small smile. She was both relieved and disheartened that Gerald had approached them when he did. She could still feel the sparks popping from her lips like a faulty outlet. She glanced over to see the faintest hint of annoyance on Arnold's face. Clearly whatever he was trying to do had been thwarted by the approach of his friend.

"I wanted to see what you guys were up to tonight. Phoebe heard from Nadine who heard from Rhonda who heard from Katrinka that there's supposed to be a bonfire up Elk Mountain later. Kind of an end-of-summer bash. You guys in?" Gerald asked.

"Hell yeah I'll go!" Helga answered excitedly.

"Yeah I'm down," Arnold said. "How are you and Phoebe gonna get there?"

"I can drive all of us, I can't drink too much tonight anyway. Jamie-O is visiting from college this weekend so I can't really be hungover."

Helga felt a buzz in her pocket and took out her phone. She had a message from Phoebe asking if she wanted to meet her and Rhonda in the foyer to walk home together.

"Uh listen I gotta get going. Pheebs and Rhonda are waiting for me in the front of the school. I'll catch you guys later tonight!" She waved and gave a smile before quickly departing down the hallway. The two boys watched her until she quickly disappeared into the crowd. Arnold looked over and saw a smirk on Gerald's lips.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing man," Gerald said. "Hey I've been meaning to ask you, where you been during lunch? Haven't seen you all week."

"Oh uh, ya know. Around," Arnold answered, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head.

"Uh-huh. Listen man, I know you like to go off and...do whatever it is you do sometimes. But it doesn't have anything to do with Pataki, does it?"

Arnold frowned at the accusation, "Of course not. I just figured that Helga would want to spend some time with Phoebe. Plus I kind of get the feeling she's been avoiding me this week, I kinda pissed her off Wednesday. Why? Have you guys all been eating lunch together this whole time?"

Gerald slapped a hand to his forehead, "My _god_ Arnold, you really are dense. Of course we are. I'm guessing I've seen more of her in the last week than you have. Helga and Phoebe aren't exactly demanding to eat alone all the time."

Arnold groaned, "Look I get what you're trying to say. I guess I didn't even think to ask if she wanted to have lunch together."

"Arnold man, you know you can't lie to me. We've known each other for fourteen years, so don't try to start now," Gerald said firmly.

"Alright fine, whatever. She kinda figured out Tuesday during creative writing that I was a little stoned. She seemed pretty annoyed, which shouldn't've surprised me because she's _always_ annoyed with me. Then Wednesday I kinda bailed on class and she got real pissy about it. I just thought I'd give her a little space, is all. I haven't even smoked during lunch since Tuesday. But honestly asking her to eat lunch with me seemed like a risky move."

Gerald sighed, "Was what I just saw right now 'a little space?' I get it, okay? You're fucking obsessed with the girl. But you're going about this all wrong. You can't ghost her for days and then suddenly trap at her locker at her after school."

Arnold knew Gerald was right. But his intention was never to confuse Helga by disappearing on her. He meant to talk to her in creative writing but she was always so focused he didn't dare disturb her. Sure, he could have sent her a text or something, but it seemed better to have her come to him when she wasn't upset. Now he was questioning whether that was all appropriate or if she instead thought he was pushing her away.

"Yeah you're right. I would really prefer not to fuck this all up. What do I do?"

Gerald smiled at him, "Well let me just say if there's one thing I'm good at it's charming the ladies. So you're in good hands. Now Pataki is a whole different breed of woman, so it's gonna take a different breed of man to win her over, you feel me?"

"Uh s-sure yeah," Arnold answered but obvious confusion painted his face.

"You're fucking hopeless I swear," Gerald said, clapping a hand to his forehead. "Okay so I think it's safe to say you're definitely a different breed of man. Now she used to be into you because you were the Casanova of a cliché love story, right? So your weird ass just has to show her that you still have some of that in you! Now - you've got the dark and mysterious thing down pat. It's time to show her you've got a sensitive side."

"I mean, she saw me cry the other day. That's pretty sensitive right?" Arnold asked.

"Oh god you _cried_?! Arnold, no one wants to be around a crying person. Tears ain't sexy, bro!"

Arnold was clearly battling himself inside as realization washed over him, "Shit! Well what do I do now? Ah fuck Gerald! I cried in front of her! Why did I do that?!'

Arnold slid down the lockers he was leaning against to the ground in defeat.

"Dude, this is hopeless."

"Don't fret, my stupid friend," Gerald said with a confident smirk. "Cause I got a plan to win her over."

* * *

Helga finished dropping off all of her school related items and was now walking to Rhonda's mansion. She didn't bother to change ahead of time but did apply a miniscule amount of makeup. She wanted to look good, but a bonfire wasn't exactly the type of scene where she needed to glam up or anything. She wore a white scoop-neck shirt that was stuffed into the front of her olive-drab joggers in a French tuck, and she wore a pair of gray Vans. The temperature had fallen a bit, so she made sure to wear in her black and gray flannel. She had a feeling that Rhonda's quick departure from Helga's house after their walk home meant she probably had a different idea of how she was going to present herself for the evening.

Rhonda had sent her the address and she was following the map app on her phone to get there. Thankfully the walk wasn't anything too crazy, and she had remembered enough of the car ride home with Gerald that she was fairly confident she wouldn't get lost. She found Rhonda's street and turned, eyeing the end of the driveway she had just been with Arnold less than a week ago.

_God what a shit show that was,_ she thought but couldn't help reminiscing over the good parts of that night.

Helga buzzed the gate and though heard no response on the other side it swung open, none-the-less. She made her way up to the estate and knocked on the door. Rhonda immediately opened the door and frowned when she saw her blonde friend on the other side of the threshold.

"Seriously? You didn't even change!"

"Rhonda, it's a _bonfire_ for crying out loud, not a gala," she retorted.

Rhonda sighed hopelessly and ushered Helga inside. They advanced up the large staircase and retreated to Rhonda's room. Helga was not wrong in assuming that her friend was overdressing for the occasion..

Rhonda wore a short sleeved, black lacy blouse with a matching black bandeau underneath. Her stomach was tastefully revealed behind the sheet of intricate lace and a Peter pan collar framed her slender neck. She had chosen to don a pair of white skinny jeans and back and white oxfords with a small heel. Her makeup was done with a subtle smokey eye and her shoulder length hair was styled pin straight.

"Princess you're gonna freeze in that thing," Helga remarked and pointed at her barely-there shirt.

Rhonda looked at her with a smirk and raised an eyebrow, "I'm fairly certain I won't, Pataki. You see I've got something even better than a jacket."

She held up an intricate silver and gold flask up to Helga's face and gave it a hearty shake back and forth. Helga took the flask from her friend, gave it a sniff and took a pull of the burning liquid. Her face contorted into a grimace at the taste.

"Aw yuck! Seriously Lloyd, you're bringing scotch to a fucking bonfire?"

Rhonda smiled, retrieved the flask and took a drink. "So Phoebe is Gerald on his way?" She asked. "It's almost 8:30 so we'll want to hit the road soon."

Phoebe wore a midnight blue v-neck shirt with a gray A-line skirt and black leggings. She had an oatmeal colored cardigan over her and wasawas wearing aga beanie along with some black flats. She took her phone out to see her boyfriend's ETA.

"He's only a few blocks away. Did everyone gather everything they need for the evening?"

Rhonda and Helga double checked they had all the essentials before nodding their reply. The three girls sat on Rhonda's bed sharing sips of the raven-haired girl's flask as they awaited Gerald's arrival. Phoebe's phone soon pinged indicating he was there and the three girls descended Rhonda's staircase together.

Helga felt her heart leap when she saw Arnold sitting in the passenger seat of Gerald's Subaru. He was wearing a red and blue flannel underneath a slate colored sweater. Just the site of the top half of him propelled her back in time. The outfit absolutely suited him and she couldn't help feeling an immediate attraction to him. The three girls approached the car and Arnold immediately exited from the passenger seat, offering it to Phoebe before joining Helga and Rhonda in the back.

Helga sat on the middle hump of the rear seat and Arnold's leg made very unavoidable contact with her thigh. She struggled between relishing the feeling of his leg against hers or ripping her own lower limb off and beating herself with it. She decided it best to stick with the former, nothing wrong with enjoying their roadtrip, right?

Arnold could smell Helga being so close to her in the cramped backseat of his friend's car. Gerald kept saying something to him about "easing in" with some light contact. However he was feeling very cowardly at that moment and he couldn't even begin to understand it. Last weekend they were all over each other, this shouldn't be any different. If anything, the gesture was _much_ less implicative compared to the other things they had been doing, so why was this so hard? He was starting to regret rehearsing this stuff with Gerald, it added an extremely dense layer of pressure that he hated.

Helga suddenly felt a warm hand clap the top of her knee. She looked over with wide eyes at Arnold. He was staring out of the window, watching the scenery passing them as they winded their way up the mountain road. She chose to focus on the music coming from the speakers at the front of the vehicle. She recognized the artist immediately as Kehlani and wasn't surprised, Phoebe and Gerald had really started getting into her music after they saw her in concert about a year ago. R & B wasn't necessarily Helga's favorite genre, but she could certainly appreciate a talented musician no matter the style of music. The music succeeded in easing a bit of the tension she felt at this point.

_Ah what the hell_ , she thought and clapped her right hand over the back of Arnold's and felt practically his entire body jolt at the action. She smirked to herself, knowing that she could still evoke that kind of reaction from him. Their fingers naturally interlaced and she could feel his eyes on her. She had her face gently resting on the fist of her left hand and cocked her head up slightly to meet his gaze. He gave her a warm, crooked smile and squeezed her hand in response. He was so handsome and she found it hard to make her eyes move away from him.

Helga was so beautiful bathed in the encroaching orange and violet twilight. Had she always been this attractive? Arnold remembered a few classmates discussing the "hot new girl" when she had joined their class. He couldn't help thinking that those words were so meaningless, so poorly descriptive. It was clear to him that he wasn't the only one looking at her, and even though he didn't appreciate the looks coming from boys with impure intentions he wanted the world to know just how fucking gorgeous, intelligent and strong she actually was. However she had always been an extremely polarizing person and this still held true. Most of the boys and girls from their school didn't appreciate someone so outspoken and blunt, and the whisperings expressing interest quickly turned less positive.

The girls called her a bitch and the guys called her an ice queen but Arnold knew she was neither of those things. He had always respected the tough side of her, but was also fortunate enough to experience her soft and caring side. No one was more fiercely loyal, nor did they harbor an ounce of the conviction to their beliefs that she did. With Helga what you see is what you get, and he always admired her madly for that. Not a lot of people were willing to fuck with that kind of energy whereas he actually craved it.

Helga felt a very light nudge from her left side, so light in fact that she thought it was maybe an accident. When the sensation happened again she turned her head to look at Rhonda who had an eyebrow raised and was giving her friend a smug half-smile as she sipped from her ornate flask. Helga rolled her eyes, trying her best to conceal her smile from Rhonda's prying eyes. Arnold and Helga never dared to let go of the others' hand, letting this sweet moment envelop them as Gerald's old Subaru followed the winding road of Elk Mountain.

* * *

A few cars had already beat them to the top and Helga felt much more comfortable here than at Rhonda's as she now could recognize those around her. She even remembered a few of their names which she thought was miraculous considering how little she actually cared about these people. Most everyone had a can of beer or a red solo cup in their hands, standing close to the roaring fire, chatting and laughing amongst themselves.

Gerald had come prepared which Helga very much appreciated. He brought along enough foldable camping chairs for everyone to sit in as well as some blankets just in case. Helga was unsurprised to see Rhonda lay claim to one of the blankets shortly after arriving there, wrapping it around her shoulders before sauntering off to socialize with their peers. Arnold and Gerald had disappeared for a short while, and when they returned had brought two extra cans of beer for Helga and Phoebe. Arnold grabbed a chair and pulled it up beside Helga, offering her the unopened beer.

"Here, figured you might be wanting one of these," Arnold offered with a smile.

Helga took the can and popped the top open, "Yeah I do, thanks Arnoldo."

They both stared wordlessly into the roaring fire for a bit. Thankfully neither was feeling too awkward after their silent hand holding in the car. Finally Arnold broke the silence. "Say uh, I really like what you did with your hair," he said.

"Seriously? Well thanks I guess," she said.

The truth was her hair was in a rather high and hastily made ponytail with a pink scrunchie fastened around it. Surely it wasn't anything special, still she appreciated the gesture.

She opened her mouth to continue speaking, "I really like your outfit, actually. I know this probably sounds dumb but it kinda reminds me of the stuff you used to rock when we were kids."

"In a good way, I hope?"

"Yeah bucko, in a _good way,_ " she said smiling.

It was actually Gerald's idea to wear this. His advice was to try to plant little reminders throughout the night to invoke feelings of romance. It was strange really, Arnold hadn't explicitly told Gerald that he wanted to really pursue her, yet here his friend was, shelling out tips and plotting to win her over. Normally Arnold might find this annoying, he pulled the same stunt right before Arnold and Lila started dating. But given the circumstances and who the girl was, he supposed he could tolerate it and even appreciate his friend's actions.

Helga sipped her beer as she watched the orange flames lick the logs in front of her. She hadn't been to something like this since the first week of freshman year when she was in California. The teens there usually liked to party at the beach homes of their pretentious classmates. She was lucky she had attended a different highschool than all her former junior high classmates or she probably wouldn't have been invited at all. Of course, her freshman year didn't end up being such a walk in the park either and was never invited to another party after that one.

"Listen Helga," Arnold said suddenly, making her jump a bit. "I feel kinda bad about the other day in class."

"Oh that? Well quit skipping class and just don't be an idiot about how high you are and it won't be a probl-"

"I'm not talking about that," he said sternly. "I'm talking about the memory piece I wrote. I swear if I had any idea you were gonna be in that class I would have picked something else.

Helga's eyes flitted to the ground giving her a downcasted expression. The horrible feeling of guilt built up inside her once again.

"It's not something you need to be sorry for, okay? It's not your fault that it upset me or whatever, it's my fault."

"I don't get it, how is it your fault? You didn't make me write it," he said with confusion.

"I mean that it's my own fault that I got upset. It's me who upset me, not you. And I might as well have made you write that, it's because of me that you wrote it like that to begin with."

"I'm not following."

"Oh for crying out loud, Arnold! Don't you ever wonder about what might have happened if I'd never left? If I hadn't decided to just fucking ignore you for five years?" She paused to let out a sigh. "Did...did I ruin your life?"

Arnold was surprised by the question. In a way, he certainly thought that she did. He remembered Gerald coming over after school when he had been refusing to attend classes. He remembered countless nights where he was angry and depressed. He remembered (or rather _didn't_ remember) drinking until he was blacked out and having panic attacks recalled to him by his friends the next day. He really hated her for a long time, he hated everything about her. Yet all it took was one stupid look at her in a skin-tight, satin dress and all of that hatred evaporated.

The truth though was that had they stayed together things may not have panned out for the best. Would they have been able to survive a long distance relationship, and as middle schoolers no less? And even if the move had never taken place, they may not have stayed together anyway. Even Gerald and Phoebe have broken up before, but they were able to reconcile. Would Helga and Arnold have been so lucky?

Arnold also knew he couldn't place the blame on her solely, a lot of this was his own doing. He never tried to better himself, never tried to find a healthy outlet for his misery. His parents were really the catalyst for the way he is today. If anything, they were more to blame than anyone.

"Did you ruin my life? No. Did you make me fucking miserable for a long time? Absolutely," he said with little hesitation.

Helga had mixed feelings about his answer, on one hand she was relieved that he didn't say something worse, but on the other hand it's not like she was totally vindicated here. Not that she expected to be, this was probably the best this conversation could have gone, all things considered.

"Really Arnold," she said after they sat in silence for a brief time. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I hate that I did that and I hate that I hurt you so badly. That I hurt myself so badly. If I could take it back…" she trailed off, finding it difficult to finish that last sentence. Arnold took her hand in his and smiled a very soft and understanding smile.

"That means a lot. Really," he said.

"Alright, enough of this sappy shit though. My beer is almost empty, you want one?"

"Oh uh, why don't you let me go and-"

"I'm not crippled, Football Head. You want another beer or not?"

He smiled and nodded and with that she disappeared into the dark to track down more alcohol. She certainly had a knack for thwarting all of his attempts at chivalry, but he didn't expect anything less. Helga walked past Stinky and Harold who said their hellos and gave a wave as she walked by. She saw Patty holding Rhonda up by her ankles to do a keg stand and laughed, shaking her head at the sight. Clearly someone had decided to downgrade from their expensive scotch after a certain threshold of drunkenness had been breached. She found a red cooler with the top open full of the beer her and Arnold had just been drinking. Helga reached down and grabbed two out of the ice.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a boy in a black leather vest talking in close contact to a short brunette girl who wore a very unflattering amount of makeup. The girl had slightly disheveled hair, and whatever he said must have been pretty hilarious because she was laughing obnoxious at everything he was saying. Either that or she was an idiot, and once Helga confirmed it was indeed Sid the girl was talking to she knew that the latter was the most likely. His eyes caught her gaze and he stared back at her for a moment before refocusing on the girl in front of him, completely uninterested in Helga's presence.

She was relieved he chose to ignore her as she approached Arnold with their drinks. She saw Harold and Stinky talking and laughing with him. The three of them were passing around a bottle of Jack Daniels and they all turned to wave at her as she approached.

"Oh hey Helga!" Harold said. "You wanna get in on this bottle?"

"Ah what the hell, why not? I can't turn down whiskey," she said as she took the bottle from Harold. Stinky offered her the bottle of Coca Cola he was holding. She took a pull off the bottle and chased the burning libation with some of the soda. She felt her body give an involuntary tremor as she handed the whiskey to Arnold.

He put the bottle to his lips and took noticeably generous swigs, not bothering to chase it down.

"Jesus Hair Boy, slow down a little. We haven't even been here an hour yet."

"Yeah I guess you're right," he said before taking another smaller drink and passing the bottle along to Stinky.

"Who'd y'all come up with?" Stinky asked.

"Arnold, Pheebs, Rhonda and I all rode up with Gerald. What about you guys, you're not driving are ya?" Helga asked.

"Nah we caught a ride with Patty. She's not drinking on account of some project she's gotta start tomorrow," Harold said and motioned to his girlfriend on the other side of the bonfire talking with Rhonda and another one of their classmates.

"So what's the deal with you two anyway?" Harold asked suddenly. "You guys dating now or what?"

Both blondes looked at each other nervously and clearly neither one knew how to answer that question. Helga was still trying the "take-it-slow" route, she didn't want to jump into something neither of them were ready for. Though when she was actually in his presence, that got harder and harder for her to uphold.

Arnold was trying to better at least parts of himself, he wanted to be as sweet and kind as he could. If they ended up together, he certainly welcomed it, but he knew it wasn't something that would happen overnight. He also had a feeling they would be in for a bit of an interesting ride if she ever decided she wanted to pursue things.

"Bottle," Helga commanded, holding out her hand. Stinky obliged by handing her the Jack Daniels with the bottle of Coke. She took a long pull, tilting her head back as the contents of the bottle slowly waned. Arnold's eyes widened, _Impressive,_ he thought. She finally pulled the bottle from her lips and immediately followed it with the soda, her face wincing from the burning alcohol. She sighed and handed both bottles to Arnold, who casually took a few drinks himself.

"Okay, that's better," she said. "No we're not _dating_ Pink Boy, we're just friends."

"Well damn, I guess I kinda thought y'all were going steady," Stinky said.

"Yeah me too," said Harold, his tone indicated he wasn't buying what they were selling. "You don't exactly seem like the 'just friends' type. So prove it, prove that you don't like each other."

"Prove it? What the fuck do you mean pro-"

Arnold suddenly grabbed Helga and pressed his mouth against hers. Lust bubbled up inside of her at the contact, and his hands were entangled in her hair as he cradled the back of her head. His tongue found its way into her mouth, and she reciprocated, tasting alcohol but not caring. She heard someone clear their throat, and she soon fell back into reality, pulling herself away from Arnold.

"We don't have to prove a fucking thing," Arnold said.

Stinky and Harold both had mixed looks of intrigue, confusion and something like disgust painted on their faces. Everyone passed the bottle around a few more times silently until Harold and Stinky were pulled away by Patty calling them over to give her a shot.

As soon as they were out of ear shot, Helga whipped her head to face Arnold.

"What the hell Football Head," she hissed. "What kind of 'friends' do shit like that?!"

Arnold shrugged, clearly uninterested in her fury. "I dunno? What kind of 'friends' hold hands in the car, what kind of a 'friend' gives you a hand jo-"

Helga clapped a hand over his mouth. "Fine, point taken. I shouldn't have said that, I just panicked." She could feel a smile against her palm and she pulled her hand away.

"I know," he said. "It was kinda funny, really. And I figured messing with those two idiots would be even funnier."

Helga gave a chuckle but rolled her eyes. She could feel a bit of a fuzziness in her head and a warmth spreading from within her. She hadn't drank like that in a while and probably could have gone without the whiskey but it was a bit late for that now. She had only had a few drinks at Rhonda's and had gotten pretty drunk, she shuddered to think what her hangover tomorrow may entail. At least she wasn't drinking sugary punch this time.

She took her phone out to check the time, 10:18. Gerald made it clear they all leave at a quarter to midnight so he could drive everyone home and make it to his house by his midnight curfew. The effects of the alcohol were strengthening and she barely realized Arnold told her he would be right back until disappeared behind a few people. She quickly found herself becoming very lonesome, and was very happy when he returned to her.

"Arnoooold you're back thank goodness," she said, her speech a bit slurred.

"What do you mean? I was gone for like three seconds."

"Three seconds too long! Where'd you go, anyway?" She asked.

"To bum one of these from Harold," he replied and lit the cigarette he just placed in his mouth.

"Wait d'you smoke?"

"Sometimes. Usually only if I'm kinda buzzed," he said.

"Wait you're drunk?"

"A little bit. You _definitely_ are though," he said with a chuckle and flicked her forehead.

"Am not!" She protested and used her arms to swat his hand away, causing her chair to tip at her clumsy actions. Arnold caught her chair by the arm and righted it, giving her a smirk. "Alright alright, maybe a little," she admitted. "Where'd Pheebs and Gerald head off to?"

Arnold flicked the end of his cigarette and used his thumb to motion to Gerald's car. Helga's eyes got wide as she erupted into laughter.

"Aw gross what the fuuuck," she said. Arnold laughed and shook his head.

"They're not doing _that_ you weirdo. Uh, I overheard them having an argument when you went to grab those beers for us."

"Oh," Helga replied and her laughter suddenly ceased. "Wait, why are they fighting?"

Arnold shrugged and took a drag off his cigarette, but the truth was he knew exactly why. Gerald had made a comment to Arnold about remembering to act cool and to be a gentleman and that Helga would be putty in his hands. Phoebe overheard and did not appreciate their secrecy, nor the implications of Gerald's statement. Gerald tried to insist that it was a good thing, that Arnold just wanted Helga to see him the way that she used to and that she could be really great for him. He tried to remind Phoebe of the former relationship between their two friends, and how much fun they all used to have. Meanwhile she reminded Gerald how Helga is a person and not some prize to be won. She made it clear that she didn't feel like Helga's feelings were being considered amidst their plotting. They had retreated to the car and had been sitting inside ever since.

_Oops_ , Arnold thought and remembered the spontaneous kiss they displayed to half of the party. _So much for acting courtly._

He peered over at Helga, she took tentative sips from her can and stared at the fire with a distinct vacancy behind her eyes, her torso swaying side to side a bit as she sat. She was obviously intoxicated and he couldn't help being amused by the sight of her like that. But he couldn't just let her get too hammered, that wouldn't be fun for her. He looked around before putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey don't go anywhere, I'll be right back okay?" He said and flicked his cigarette butt into the fire.

"W-what no where're you going?!"

"I said I'll be right back, just hang tight okay?"

Her lips formed a very distinct pout and her eyebrows knitted together over two blue puppy dog eyes. The sight of her like that melted him. He crouched down and got very close to her face.

"Look I'm going to grab you some water, okay? And Gerald put the blankets back in his car, aren't you a little chilly?" He asked. She nodded but her face retained the same pleading expression. "Okay, so just wait here I'll be right back," he paused and leaned towards her ear. "And please stop looking at me like that or I'll do to you what I did the last time you had that look on your face."

Helga shivered as he pulled away, his hair sweeping across her cheek. His body heat disappeared with him as he walked to Gerald's car. He wasn't wrong, it was starting to get a bit cold and she could feel nausea taunting her insides. The others must have thought so as well as they piled a few more logs on the fire. She thought about what he just said to her, it dawned on her the _last_ time she pleaded like that with him was when he was pleasuring her in his bed. Her cheeks suddenly reddened, _Wait, where does he get off telling me that? He's not the only one who can play this game._

She smiled a sinister smile and he soon rejoined her. She took the bottle of water from him and drank it generously. He handed her the blanket, holding one for himself under his arm and an idea formed in her head.

"Well they seemed like they were ready to get back to the party, so that's good," he quipped.

"Hand me that," Helga said. He raised a confused eyebrow at her but obeyed and handed her his blanket. She laid it on the ground near the fire and beckoned him to her. "Well don't just stand there Football Head, come sit with me."

Arnold did as Helga said and sat on the blanket to the left of her. She took the large microfiber blanket in her hand and put it over her right shoulder, offering him the other half. He did the same, wrapping himself up alongside her. The blanket was large enough to easily envelop them both and Helga snaked her arms around him, hugging him closely to her. She hesitated for a moment, _This is probably such a stupid fucking idea._

Still, she gently worked one of her hands up the bottom of his shirt and lightly traced her fingers along his spine. She looked up at him and he caught her gaze.

"Remind me again," she said in a low voice that made this heart skip a beat. "What was it you said you'd do to me?"

Helga continued tracing shapes along the middle of Arnold's back, making goosebumps rise across his skin.

"Oh uh, I dunno I was just being stupid," he lied, and his head was suddenly very clouded with a certain action he performed and had reimagined at least a hundred times. He froze as lips gently peppered his neck with kisses.

Arnold tried to steady his breathing, but it was in vain and he inhaled sharply when Helga started suckling his neck. He could feel himself growing between his legs and had to stifle a moan when her teeth sank into his earlobe. She snickered quietly.

"You like that?" She asked in a teasing voice.

_God yes,_ he thought and planted his lips on hers, wasting no time in slipping his tongue into her mouth. Their tongues danced for a moment and it took him a few seconds to realize her mouth had abruptly left his own. His eyes slowly opened and he saw her looking at him with an amused smile.

"Don't look at me like that," she said in a low, sultry voice. "Or I'll do to you what I did the last time you had that look on your face."

* * *

Arnold was nervous as Helga held his hand, leading him away from the party into the woods. He clutched the blankets tightly under his free arm, his eyes darting all around him as they struggled to adjust to the darkness. To his relief she seemed to be traipsing around rather well through the thicket, and hoped this meant she had managed to sober up a little.

Helga smiled to herself despite the small voice in the back of her mind telling to stop whatever the fuck she was doing and turn around. The truth was in that moment she no longer cared about the notion of doing the right thing. They could create a mess together, a beautiful mess that didn't need any sort of validation or approval from anyone. She was already too invested, too attached to stop herself from half-hazardly plowing into his heart. She was feeling much better by now, having sucked down the contents of the water bottle with vigor. The nauseousness that was permeating through her had disappeared, though she would be lying if she said she had become magically sober.

They were far enough from the party now that the voices of everyone were muffled to near inaudibility, and the roaring bonfire was now a small orange glow in the distance. She took the blanket from Arnold and laid it down on a small clearing. She grabbed him by the collar of his flannel and pulled his face to hers, her tongue immediately seeking his. Her breath was ragged and hungry, and Arnold's heart was pounding so hard at her voracity that it threatened to explode.

Her hands grasped at his hair and her teeth pulled at his bottom lip. There was a passion igniting between them that had begun as a small spark between their tangled hands in the car, but now progressed to a raging fire that burned hot and wild. She pushed him down onto the blanket, letting herself gently fall on top of him. She could feel how hard he was against her pelvis, which only fed her hunger for him.

Arnold's mind was stuck somewhere between confusion, lust and elation. Helga was so fiercely engaged with him he barely had time to process what was happening. Everything about this was exactly what Gerald advised him _not_ to do, and everything Phoebe had inferred from the boys' conversations earlier in the night. He never was one to take advice from others', even well-meaning advice that he would be wise to follow, so why start now? None of that mattered when the most beautiful girl in the world was rubbing against you and quite literally breathing life back into you. Never had Arnold ever felt more alive than he did right now in the forest with Helga.

They grinded their bodies against one another so forcefully it was truly a miracle that they hadn't worn holes into their clothes. It was clear kissing wasn't going to be enough as Helga fiddled with Arnold's belt and started unbuttoning his jeans. Suddenly a thought struck Arnold and he grabbed her wrists firmly. She pulled her lips from his and scowled at him.

"There a problem?" She asked.

"W-well it's just, we've had a lot to drink, I don't want you doing anything you regret."

Helga was a bit touched by that, _There's the shy, noble idiot I adore._

"You don't have to worry. I'm not going to do anything I wouldn't do sober," she said with a wicked smile. "Do you trust me?"

Arnold nodded and with that Helga kissed his lips and touched her tongue to his so gently he thought he might melt into a puddle beneath her. She finished unbuttoning his pants and slowly moved her mouth down, showering him with kisses down his neck. She lifted his shirt and peppered his chest and stomach with her gentle, wet kisses as she continued her descent down his body. He anticipated what might be going to happen and had to keep himself calm. Only in his wildest dreams did he ever think this might happen. Helga pulled his pants down to his thighs and he felt sweaty and almost shaky all of a sudden, but he knew it wasn't from the whiskey.

Arnold felt Helga's hand grab him while her soft lips teased the tip of his shaft, followed by her warm, wet tongue tracing circles around him. He thought he might lose it right then and there until her mouth descended upon him, he groaned so loudly he was sure someone could probably hear him but he didn't care in the least if they did. His hands fell to the back of her head and he had to force himself not to thrust into her mouth as her head bobbed up and down.

_Oh fuck,_ he thought as she used her tongue to applied pressure to various parts of his member. She frequently changed her rhythm and speed between hard and fast to slow and sensual and he moaned in sync to her movements. The sensation was unreal, the feeling of her mouth around him was something he had envisioned countless times but was unparalleled to how wonderful it actually felt. He tried to contain himself to prolong the pleasure she was bringing him. It didn't take long for the ecstasy to build and his hands balled up and he yanked at her hair. Helga read his body language, tightening her lips and pressing her tongue into his length.

Arnold thought for a moment he saw a light in the distance but ignored it as his member released overwhelming pleasure. Helga continued her motions, taking his cum into her mouth as he moaned wildly. Once his body relaxed, she took her mouth from him and wiped her mouth on her sleeve. She gave him a satisfied smile that abruptly disappeared at the sound of footsteps and the sight of a white light flitting around through the trees.

"I thought I heard someone," a girl's voice said very near to them. Helga quickly tried to untangle and smooth down the hair on the back of her head. Arnold was panicking and pulled his pants up hurriedly, fumbling with his belt. He winced when a bright light spotlighted the two teens and their implicative position.

"Well, well, well," Sid said with a sneer, holding the bright flashlight so the light stayed fixed on them. "What are _you two_ doing?"


	8. Release

_**Warning: heavy sexual content and drug activity ahead. Possible TW regarding abuse.**_ **All cast and characters of Hey Arnold! belong to creator Craig Bartlett.**

**Chapter 7: Release**

"I'm not interrupting something am I?" Sid asked, eyeing Helga's disheveled hair and watching Arnold cinch his belt.

"Gee whatever gave you that impression," Helga responded sarcastically.

Sid laughed, "I knew it! You guys are crazy, fuckin' around in the dirt like a couple of animals!"

"Sid are these friends of yours?" The girl asked innocently. Helga recalled seeing her chatting with Sid earlier in the night by the fire.

"Yeah, yeah sure," he replied, waving her away in disregard. "Damn you guys should've seen the look on your faces. Fucking priceless I wish I had a camera."

"I'm sure you do, you fucking freak," Helga muttered. Sid continued sneering, but his eyes narrowed at her words.

"Christ Pataki, learn to take a fuckin' joke. Arnold you really got your hands full with this one. Or maybe she's got her hands full with _you_. Hard to say," he said mockingly. Helga was growing increasingly impatient with these games Sid was playing.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Helga hissed. Arnold put a hand on her shoulder, he could tell she had just about enough of their classmate's unfiltered comments. Truthfully the things coming out of Sid's mouth made his blood boil, but he couldn't afford to make another transgression against him. Not yet, anyway.

Arnold glared at Sid in warning. _Don't you dare say a fucking word about that stuff, you little snake._

"Nothing, nothing. Just messin' around. I'm tellin' ya, you really need to lighten up. Not everything needs to be so fuckin' dramatic," he said in annoyance.

"Sid, why don't you take - you're Brooke right?" Arnold asked the girl, who nodded in reply. "Why don't you take _Brooke_ along and get to doing whatever it is you're trying to do?"

Helga couldn't help but notice the cadence of warning in Arnold's words. Despite the formulation of his sentence as a question, he wasn't offering a suggestion. He was giving a command. Sid chuckled at Arnold and shrugged, casually brushing off the tense exchange. Helga had to wonder if the message behind Arnold's words were clear to him or not, or if he was just playing along. The more she was around him the more he creeped her out. She couldn't help but feel a little impressed by her wide headed companion, was Sid scared of Arnold?

"Yeah sure man. C'mon babe let's get going, this joint isn't going to smoke itself. Pataki, I'll see you in class on Monday," he called out as he turned to walk away.

"Asshole," Helga mumbled. She turned to see Arnold giving her a curious look. "What?"

"You and Sid have a class together?"

"Unfortunately," she responded as she ran her fingers through her long locks of hair and attempted to reaffix her ponytail.

"Okay, which one?"

"Gym class," she answered simply.

"Is he, like _normal_ in that class?"

"Is Sid ever _normal?_ " She replied.

"Point taken. But I mean, has he been giving you any trouble or anything like that?" Arnold asked. He didn't have a great feeling about this since, for whatever reason, Sid seemed to really enjoy messing with Helga. It honestly confused him, the two of them were always friends when they were younger. Why was he being such a prick all of a sudden?

Helga was struggling to answer the question. She didn't want to lie to Arnold, but she also didn't need him losing his shit like the last time. She hadn't even given Phoebe the full story of the annoying things Sid had said to her, but at this point she was fairly confident she could handle him on her own. And she didn't exactly relish the idea of ruining whatever shred of friendship the two boys had left after Arnold clocked him in the nose.

"N-no, we don't talk," she said finally. She felt shitty about not fully disclosing the truth but she wasn't exactly _totally_ lying, either. It just depended on your perception of what "giving trouble" might entail. It's not like he was trying to kill her or anything.

"Well I'm glad to hear that. Sid isn't all bad but I don't like this weird bullshit he keeps trying to pull whenever you're around. You'll tell me if anything happens, right?" Arnold had his hands on both Helga's shoulders and his eyes were piercing right through hers.

"Fine, whatever. You know I can handle a little weasel like Sid on my own though, right?"

"Trust me, I know very well that you could knock him into next week. But Sid fights dirty Helga, and I don't mean physically. I don't want to freak you out and if he's left you alone so far he probably won't bother you now. Just...be aware okay?" He said seriously.

"Uh yeah, sure. I'll be careful I guess," Helga answered. _He fights dirty?_ she wondered, _What does that mean? How "dirty", exactly?_

"C'mon, let's get back to the party. It's already a quarter past eleven, we don't have a lot of time left," he said with a smile and offered his hand to her. She grabbed the blankets up off the ground and took his outstretched hand in hers, and together they walked back towards the distant orange glow.

When they got back, they could see Phoebe, Rhonda and Gerald all standing around the fire together, drinking and laughing gleefully (sans Gerald who was their sober ride home). Rhonda saw the two blondes approaching first and made something of a suggestive whooping sound as they stepped out of the darkness of the woods.

"Can it, Lloyd," Helga said with a smile and playfully punched her shoulder.

"Helga, where did you two run off to?" Phoebe inquired innocently.

"Yeah Shortman, where _did_ you two run off to? We're all _dying_ to know," Gerald quipped.

"Uh, nowhere special," Arnold answered. "Just needed a breath of fresh air."

"Dude what? We're outside," Gerald retorted, causing a blush to spread across the cheeks of Helga and Arnold.

Thankfully, a drunken Rhonda Lloyd came to the rescue. "Who cares? Let em fuckin' make out or whatever. Helga, Phoebe, help hold my legs so I can do another keg stand!"

"Aye-aye, Princess," Helga said before discreetly whispering to Arnold, _"Good luck."_

The three girls disappeared and Gerald turned on his heel to face Arnold. "Okay man, spill it. What the hell did you two do?"

"N-nothing we just went for a wal-"

"Drop it dude, I know you're lying. For fuck's sakes ya got twigs and shit in your hair," Gerald pulled a small piece of wood from Arnold's golden locks as he spoke, which only further validated his suspicions.

_"Alright_ ," Arnold hissed. "We might have been...messing around a little."

"Goddamn Arnold that was like the number one rule for tonight. _No gettin' frisky_. You know how mad Phoebe's gonna be at me when she finds out?"

"O-okay, I get it. But it wasn't me who started it, honest!"

"Damn I shoulda seen this coming. That Pataki is a hellcat if I've ever seen one. Okay fine, so we missed the mark on that one. You said the lines though, right?" Gerald asked.

"Uh, well no. I couldn't remember them, to be honest," Arnold answered earnestly.

Gerald sighed and shook his head, "Man why do I even try with you? Alright look, we're running out of time but there is still a chance for redemption. You made sure to compliment her and all that, right?"

"Of course! I didn't need you to tell me to do that. I even got her water and shit," Arnold said smugly. "That was gentlemanly as fuck!"

Gerald laughed and clapped a hand on Arnold's shoulder. "Alright, seems like tonight wasn't a total waste, then. But I'm tellin' ya, ya gotta say the lines."

"I-I dunno Gerald. I feel like things are going pretty well and that might-"

"Nah man I'm _tellin'_ ya. Chicks dig the lines. How d'you think I've kept Phoebe on lock all these years. Trust me on this one."

"Okay but remember in fourth grade when you told me to say all that stuff to Miss Felter and I looked like a giant dumb ass? This is kinda starting to feel like that," Arnold said sheepishly.

"Oh c'mon this is nothing like that! We were nine years old then! I promise, she's gonna lose her mind when you start saying those words," Gerald replied in confidence.

Arnold still wasn't convinced, but his friend made a good point. Him and Phoebe had been together practically forever now, surely he had learned some tricks along the way. If anything, this could really seal the deal. Worst case scenario he fails miserably and embarrasses the shit out of himself. He had gotten pretty used to the latter by now. Regardless of the outcome, he had a feeling his day-to-day shenanigans may have more of a negative impact than the stupid pick up lines Gerald made him rehearse for the night, anyway.

He walked up behind the blonde, having had the keg stand holding duty passed off on Patty who laughed as Rhonda tried to drink, sputtering beer all over the ground beneath her. Helga's weight was shifted onto one leg, showing off her curvaceous figure and her ponytail still slightly mangled from their impromptu romp in the woods. He wondered if she realized how lovely she looked just like this, how great her ass looked in those pants. Probably not. He crept up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"Y-you know, there isn't a word in the dictionary to describe how beautiful you are," he said softly into her ear.

"What? Criminy, are you drunk or something?"

"Uhh," he thought about what Gerald told him, always have a backup line in case the first one doesn't work her over. "T-tell me, what does it feel like to be the most gorgeous girl here?"

Helga burst out laughing and turned to look at a red-faced Arnold.

"Please tell me you're messing with me, what the fuck are you even talking about?" She said, doubling over and resting her hands on her knees as she continued laughing.

"Y-yeah of course. I'm just messing with you," Arnold said and shot a dirty look to Gerald who just shrugged his shoulders.

"Y'almost sounded like Gerald for a minute there. Holy shit, that was hilarious Football Head. Hey you wanna hold me?"

"Just tell me where," He answered playfully before realizing he didn't understand the context of the question. "Uh wait, for what exactly?"

"Oh my god, you're hopeless," she said with a chuckle. "For a keg stand! I trust you more than that lush Lloyd or tiny ass Phoebe. And I think Patty's about tapped out. I'll give you our hand signal when I'm ready to stop."

He nodded, though didn't quite know what "their" hand signal was. She approached the keg, getting a good grip on either side and gave him the go-ahead to raise her up. He had flipped her up by her ankles but had to readjust his hands to hold her by the thighs when she was fully inverted. Her shirt fell down around her shoulders, exposing her torso. She didn't seem to notice or care, and when he looked down he could see her large breasts cradled in a lacy black bra, with gravity threatening to expose them completely. Certain parts of her anatomy were in very close proximity to his face, making him so distracted he almost missed her signal. It was the old hand signage they used when playing baseball together, the knuckleball specifically. He carefully lowered her legs down and she adjusted her shirt, wiping the beer from her face.

"Yes that was awesome!" She said excitedly. "I was scared you wouldn't remember our old pitching calls. Probably should have thought about that before putting my life in your hands."

"Of course I remember," he answered fondly. "How could I ever forget? You're the best catcher in Hillwood."

"Now _that_ ," Helga said with a sweet smile, giving him a gentle shove. "Is how you get a girl's attention. Not whatever pseudo Don Juan shit Gerald's been feeding you."

* * *

Arnold could feel the weight of someone on top of him. He used his hands to identify the culprit, and instantly his fingers recognized the silky smooth skin of Helga's thighs. He looked up and sure enough, there she was. It took him a moment to realize he didn't have any clothes on, and she herself was clad only in the lacy black brassiere he caught a glimpse of at the party. She didn't even have any panties on.

She smiled a seductive smile at him and grinded her warm, wet slit against his erection. He grabbed her by the wrists and pulled her face to his, tasting every bit of the inside of her mouth and feeling his tongue against hers. He took off the last piece of clothing separating them from full skin-on-skin contact and immediately took a breast in his hand, kissing her and suckling on her nipple. She sighed and thrust her hips forward and back along his length.

He couldn't take it anymore, he had to feel himself inside of her. He needed it, and badly. He needed to hear her moan and scream his name. He needed to know just how good they could make each other feel. This was something he had wanted so immensely that he couldn't wait anymore. His hands fell to her hips and they rubbed against each other for a moment longer before she grabbed his shaft in one hand, like she was reading his thoughts.

She raised her pelvis up and guided the tip of him to her entrance. He was absolutely throbbing now, and the anticipation was making him crazy. They moaned in synchrony as she slowly lowered herself onto him, and took every bit of him into her.

"Fuck!" He exclaimed when she started rolling her hips back and forth slowly. Soon they had picked up a rhythm and their place quickened. She let out primal, high pitched moans that only made him want to fuck her even harder. She leaned her torso down towards him and was panting audibly into his ear. Her hands went to the back of his head, pulling his hair as their bodies slammed into each other.

His nails clawed into the flesh of her back, and he dragged them down until his hands reached her hips. He now knew every inch of her, and she of him. She was so tight, so wet. He could imagine doing this everyday for the rest of his life, he could drag this moment out for the rest of eternity and never want to stop. He loved seeing her breasts bounce, watching her hips writhe around on top of him and hearing her voice hitch when he plunged himself deeper inside of her.

Arnold pressed a thumb to her clit, making her high pitched whimpers intensify.

"Arnold, you feel so good inside me," she whispered in his ear. That was it. That was all she needed to say to drive him over the edge. He slammed himself into her as forcefully as he could, making her scream with pleasure. He groaned as he grabbed her ass, his climax quickly approaching.

Finally, he felt the best physical sensation his body had ever produced. At the very last moment he pulled out from her and marked her with his cum. He laid with his eyes closed, panting tirelessly. He wanted to kiss the beautiful person that made him feel so unbelievably good. He wanted to hug her and hold her and probably do everything they just did all over again. However when he reached up, his hands only caught the nothingness of air. His eyes shot open and he was slapped with shock at the sight of a soft pink blur floating delicately above him. He reached out to grab it but it dodged him easily.

The blur flitted away and Arnold lurched out of bed, stretching his hand out to try and catch it.

"No! Please! Please don't go, don't leave me here all alone," he begged. But the blur simply continued shrinking as it floated away. He fell to his knees in frustration, trying to comprehend how and why that happened. Suddenly he heard a muffled sound.

"Hello?" He asked no one in particular.

"Arnold?" The voice called out, more audibly. He recognized the owner of the voice immediately.

"Helga? Is that you?" He pleaded.

"Arnold!" Helga's voice said much louder this time.

"Arnold! Arnold!"

"I can't find you, where are you?" He turned around to look and jumped when she saw Helga standing nearly nose-to-nose in front of him, smiling in an almost disturbing fashion.

"Arnold! Hey Arnold!"

Arnold suddenly sat up with a jump, his alarm clock sounding off its usual chime, indicating it was time to rise from sleep.

"Hey Arnold! Hey Arnold! Hey Arnold!"

"Jesus shut up!" He took the clock and threw it hard, causing the noise to cease.

_That was all a dream?_ he wondered. He looked under the cover of his comforter and growled at his soiled bottoms. Definitely a dream. He changed out of his clothes and stripped his mattress, marching everything straight downstairs for a wash. He was annoyed, he didn't understand why these dreams haunted him so. His therapist said something about him needing to deal with or confront the root cause of the blur and what it meant to him. He wasn't so dense he didn't realize that the blur was Helga, but he didn't understand why.

These dreams had been plaguing him before her return, though not for long prior. Sure, he would think about her from time to time in the months before she came back. Occasionally Phoebe would accidentally bring her up in front of him which would irritate him to no end, though admittedly that hadn't happened in a while. Was it just a random chance that his dreams seemed to correlate and almost predict her return? Could the blur have meant something else and then evolved into Helga over time? His therapist was of no help in this, she insisted that he needed to work out the interpretation for himself. This particular dream he would keep to himself, however.

* * *

"Hey Arnold!" The voice of Helga rang out making him jump. He quickly turned and she gave him a strange look. "Uh, a little jumpy today?"

"Y-yeah, something like that. You look good," Arnold remarked, eyeing her up and down. His brief moment of agitation was quickly replaced by that of fondness.

Helga wore a loose black cut off t-shirt with a Jolly Roger emblem, skin tight pink pants and her ever faithful black combat boots. Her long hair hung in wavy locks, and she wore her typical bare face with a hint of mascara. Today she had decided to use a dash of liquid eyeliner to give herself a very subtle cat eye and donned oversized gold hoop earrings.

"Oh lord whatever. You always say shit like that. Now why did you want me to meet you here? Is this your locker? And don't you usually disappear around this time?" She asked accusingly, clutching her brown lunch sack in one hand.

"Well I was hoping we could have lunch together today...and yes this is in fact my locker," he said sheepishly.

"Uh, yeah I guess. I'm not really sure why you couldn't just _text_ me that but yeah, lunch sounds good. I usually eat with Pheebs and Tall Hair Boy, sometimes Princess Lloyd or Nadine grace us with their presence. Of course no one would mind if y-"

"Because I wanted to see that face of yours," he said, making her blush. "And actually I was hoping we could eat alone, just you and I."

"OH. Okay. Sure I don't see why not," she answered casually but inside she was absolutely elated at the invitation. It was little things like this she daydreamed about for a very long time. "You uh, want to eat in the cafeteria or in the courtyard?"

"Let's hit the courtyard. The cafeteria's always crowded."

"Okay then, after you bucko," she said and was unable to suppress an excited smile.

They walked side-by-side through the main foyer of the school and found an empty bench nearby. The morning had started off nice enough but a chilly wind had picked up, Helga instantly held her arms to her chest.

"Shit I should have grabbed my sweatshirt, I'll be right back Football Head," she said and went to turn but a hand grabbed her wrist, stopping her from leaving.

"Don't be stupid, just take mine," he said and started pulling his hoodie off, not leaving Helga even a moment to protest. He offered it to her and she mumbled her thanks before putting it on.

"Yes how _stupid_ of me to assume my weird exboyfriend would strip down to nothing all for my sake," she muttered with an eye roll.

"Is that a suggestion?" He said with his mischievous crooked smile, pulling her down to join him.

"Would it matter if it was?"

"Depends on if you were serious or not, I guess."

"Okay," she said with a smirk. "I'm dead serious."

Arnold continued smiling at her as he stood up, slowly unbuttoning his flannel and shaking his hips at her like some sort of man of the night. She laughed and shoved him away from her.

"Alright nevermind this is the cringiest thing ever, oh my god," she remarked through bursts of laughter. Arnold laughed along with her, and returned to sit next to her.

"My turn," he said with a wink.

Helga gave him a gentle shove, "In your fuckin' dreams!" She laughed before continuing again. "So why today, huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"Lunch, I mean. Why today? Never seemed like something that was on your radar."

"Eh, I needed a change of pace. And something about eating lunch with a pretty girl seemed like a nice alternative to what I'm usually doing," he said.

"What _are_ you usually doing?" She asked with suspicion hanging onto her words.

_Fuck_ , he thought. How was he supposed to answer that one? He didn't want to lie, that wasn't his intention, but maybe he didn't need to disclose _everything_ about what he was doing during their lunch break. She already knew he was getting high, so he could just elaborate on that. She didn't need to know that he was making money by doling out things like pills and bags of weed to the student body.

"Well, I mean I think you already know. Usually just smoke a bowl or do a line of something," he answered as casually as he could.

"Do a line? Criminy please don't tell me you're some kind of drug addict," she said with narrowed eyes.

_Ah shit,_ he realized he may only be digging himself a deeper hole.

"I'm not a _drug addict_ , I just like to fuck around sometimes. I'm not doing it everyday."

"Yeah I guess… Come to think of it, I don't think you came to class high one day after Tuesday last week. So what were you doing then, if not cozying up to Geraldo?" She asked.

"Uh nothing really. Just hanging out with Iggy or Stinky and some older kids. Sometimes I just like to get away from campus," he said. He knew he was stretching the truth a bit more than he originally intended. But it was too late now, unless she found out on her own he wasn't planning on uttering a word to her.

" _Sometimes_? Whatever you say, Football Head. What kinds of lines are you doing, anyway?"

The more questions she asked, the more uncomfortable he felt himself getting. It would probably be easier to tell her what kinds of lines he _wasn't_ doing. He had trapped himself now, though. He was going to have to give a little so we wouldn't get suspicious. Never had he cared about anyone finding out about his usual escapades, save for maybe Gerald and his grandparents, but he wanted to at least give himself a chance.

"Pills, usually," at least that part was true. "Depends on the day. Sometimes Adderall, sometimes oxys. Things like that," he said, rubbing the back of his head uncomfortably.

"Oh for christ's sake, Arnold…" she muttered. All of a sudden her face lit up before continuing. "You ever do coke?" She asked. He was surprised at how her voice abruptly changed when that question left her. Suddenly she seemed... _interested_?

"Yeah we do coke from time-to-time. It's expensive though so I-" he stopped to clear his throat. "I mean, _we_ don't get it all the time."

"Hmm yeah makes sense," she said quietly. "D'you have any right now?"

The truth was, Arnold _did_ have some right now but he was taken aback by the question. Maybe he shouldn't have been, she wasn't some lame, straight laced chick. Was he misinterpreting her demeanor in asking the question? Was this something she would get really pissed at him about if he told her the truth?

"I'm going to guess by your weird face that you do," she said. "Can we do some later?"

Arnold smiled a naughty smile at her before answering, "Seriously?"

"Seriously," she said as if the answer was as obvious as could be. Cocaine was one drug Helga had experimented with pretty regularly in the past. In California it was a mainstay party favor, and when the only friends you can make are gutter punks and any others who live a fringe lifestyle, you get more than your fair share of opportunity to try it out. Especially when you're a pretty girl.

The few friends she had always used to give her shit because she would be smoking weed and doing lines with them on the weekends, but she hardly ever drank, instead reserving alcohol for bigger parties. Plus she wasn't too keen on the idea of ending up becoming a lush like Miriam. She also never failed to give everyone a good scolding if they used school as their setting of choice for their shenanigans. To her there was a big difference between having a good time and being an idiot.

"We could do some now, if you want," he offered.

Helga chuckled, "Not _now_ Football Head. We have class, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah alright I get it," Arnold answered. "So when, then?"

She tapped her chin thoughtfully, "Hm, I guess it's hard to say. It's only Monday, and I have homework and shit to do. Fuck if only we had that over the weekend!"

Arnold actually had _more_ over the weekend, as a matter of fact, but he wasn't going to say anything about that right now. He did have a solution to offer but she might not like it. Although it was better than nothing at this point, he decided.

"Listen, why don't we just blow off the rest of our classes?"

"Arnold…"

"Just hear me out, it's only 12:30 right? If we leave school now that gives us a while to come down. It's not hard for me to get out of trouble for missing class, so long as I keep doing therapy and shit. Plus that will give you plenty of time to do your homework since you won't have as much as normal."

Helga sighed and pulled her phone out. She selected a contact and put the phone up to her ear.

"Bob it's Helga. I'm not feeling so hot, you're gonna need to call me outta school before I blow chunks everywhere," she paused briefly as her father responded on the other end of the line. "Yep, sure. Uh-huh. Fine. Bye."

She pressed a button ending the call. "Okay Arnold, let's do this."

* * *

The two teens decided that Helga's house would be the safest to go to. Miriam may as well have not even been home, and Bob worked late trying to get everything on track in the store. Despite how much Phil and Gertie loved Helga, they wouldn't take kindly to the two teens skipping class and holing up in Arnold's room. And you could forget adding drugs to the mix.

They walked side-by-side, Arnold laughed remembering how drunk Helga got at the bonfire while she laughed at all of Arnold's shitty come-ons throughout the night. Neither one dared to bring up their activities in the woods, though it lingered in the back of their minds. It was fairly obvious they were into each other, even to them, but their dynamic was so strange neither one knew how to approach it. They both had plenty of things they were keeping from each other. Perhaps if they had allowed their relationship to develop emotionally instead of physically, things wouldn't have gotten so complicated. Too little too late for that now. Though they had never been a conventional pair to begin with.

The two blondes finally approached the brownstone building where Helga lived. She let them both inside, Arnold gawked a little at how nice it was. He forgot that Bob had always done well for himself and that Helga's family had a decent amount of money. The house wasn't anything extravagant, but it certainly put the boarding house to shame. They both wordlessly climbed the stairs, Arnold looked to the living room to see Miriam asleep on the couch, a bottle of bourbon lay on the floor with her hand clutched around the neck of the bottle. The television was playing some sort of daytime talk show in the background.

Helga's parents had pissed Arnold off from the time they were kids. He knew how much she struggled with her self esteem as a child, no doubt some of that was seeded from being raised in a neglectful and dysfunctional home. She may have been something of a little monster growing up, but he always saw beneath her exterior.

He couldn't believe how much she had blossomed during her time away. Sure she was as tough as ever and still found little ways to torment him but it was basically a turn-on for him now. As a kid he chose to look past the unsavory parts of just about everything to find the good or wholesome qualities within. He wasn't so much like that anymore, sometimes people who are rougher around the edges are also more real and authentically themselves. Sometimes those rough edges are the most interesting parts of people.

Arnold followed behind Helga up to her room, she let him in and he looked around curiously. She had posters that were mostly of 80s and 90s punk bands hung around her room. There were also weird portraits of surrealistic creatures that were kind of hypnotizing but mostly strange. He saw something on top of her bookshelf that very much looked like some sort of small mammal in a jar next to what appeared to be a bird skull. And a large tapestry of a mandala hanging behind her bed that she had strung soft pink lights around the top of.

Her choice of decor was certainly bizarre but Arnold enjoyed it. He noticed a few identical pink notebooks on her bookshelf that immediately caught his eye.

_Where have I seen something like those before?_ he wondered. He knew it looked familiar but couldn't for the life of him place it and just shrugged it off. Helga was digging around in her closet, so Arnold sat on her large bed and waited. She pulled out a square piece of glass that looked like the top to a small side table and a little wooden box. She put both on the floor at his feet.

"I think this is everything we'll need. I'm gonna wash up, I need to get this mascara off my eyeballs," she said before walking out of the room.

Arnold looked in the box, a razor was inside along with what looked like an old library card and some pen tubes that had been cut down to about three inch increments. He set his backpack down and pulled out what appeared to be a large can of iced tea but was actually a plastic tube made to _look_ that way. The bottom unscrewed and the inside was a small hidden compartment where he stashed all of his clandestine items. He pulled out a crumpled bag containing several smaller bags of a white powdery substance.

He didn't want Helga to see all of the gram sized bags he had stashed, that would make his intent to sell all too obvious. He took two grams and married them together, that would likely be enough. The best part of dealing was the benefits of having a personal stash. He could do three or four of these and still make decent money. He hid the rest of the cocaine back in his fake can and put their supply for the afternoon on the piece of glass at his feet.

Helga was still taking a while, and his prying eyes got the better of him as he grabbed one of the notebooks and started pawing through it, skimming the pages. There were loads of what appeared to be poems, sometimes just a few words written on a page that seemed more like the writer was recording their thoughts, and the occasional small sketch that he couldn't really make heads or tails of. He settled on a page that seemed similar to the poetry he had read, but was different in that it was the only thing dated. The recorded date was from about a year ago.

"He's not you, but I still look forward to being with him day in and day out. He's not the same, but I still regard him in a way that holds significance. His eyes are not yours, but I find myself getting lost in them from time to time. He isn't the real thing, but a very convenient substitute."

Arnold stared at the page and reread the entry a few times. _Is this about...another guy?_ he wondered. Helga never mentioned anything about having dated someone else, but she also didn't mention hardly anything about her life in California. He felt stupid all of a sudden for not having asked. He gasped when he saw her leaning against her door frame, staring at him.

"Oh I- uh," he uttered, panicking and trying to get the notebook away from him. Helga raised an eyebrow at him. "Uh, sorry."

"What exactly did you just read?"

"N-nothing. I didn't read anything, I was just skimming the pages," he lied.

"No, you were snooping and reading my personal shit. I was watching long enough to know you weren't just 'skimming.' So tell me, what did you read?"

Arnold instantly felt guilty, but Helga didn't seem to be angry with him. Annoyed maybe, which he was used to enough.

"Uh, s-something about 'he isn't the real thing, just a convenient substitute,' I think," he said, trying to recall the words properly.

"Oh," Helga chuckled a little. "Tyler's poem, huh?"

"Who's Tyler?" Arnold asked.

"A piece of shit," she answered flatly. "You gonna cut those lines?"

Arnold put the glass on the floor between him and Helga and poured out a small pile of the snowy powder. He used the razor to cut out some lines and handed Helga the pen tube. She put the tube to her nostril and effortlessly snorted the substance. She sniffed several times after and handed the tube back to him. He followed suit and she spoke quietly as he leaned his head back after sniffing his line.

"I guess that's not really fair, is it? As I'm sure you've already figured out, Tyler's my ex."

"Well, okay. I mean yeah, I did kind of assume that," Arnold said while cutting out two mores lines. "I mean I already fuckin' hate him, but why is he a piece of shit?"

Helga hugged her knees to her chest and stared at the floor. "Ha, where do I even start? Just a mean guy, I guess."

Arnold thought it was very strange, how Helga seemed to be shrinking right before his eyes talking about this person. He was curious, but she seemed almost timid, sitting there in a ball. Seeing her like that sparked his concern. Just who was this guy?

"We don't have to talk about it anymore, if you don't want to," he said gently, trying to catch her gaze.

She sighed, "No, it's fine Arnold. Really. Tyler was my ex, like I said, we dated for probably half a year. I broke things off with him about six months or so ago. We were friends at first, really good friends. Neither of us were exactly popular at my last school so him and I always just pal'd around together. Things were fine at first, then he just turned into a fucking psycho," she forced a smile and shook her head.

"Him and I used to do a lot of shit like this. I never cut class with him to do it though," she remarked and shot Arnold a look. He didn't know if that was a compliment, an insult or an observation but a tinge of guilt hit him.

"He was...different though. He did shit like this all the time. Like _all_ the time. Guess that's why I got on your case last week. I used to with him too. With all my friends, really. But at least you didn't beat the shit out of me for it," she chuckled when she saw Arnold's eyes widen like saucers. "That's some serious victim sounding shit, isn't it? It's crazy cause it's not like I _loved_ the guy or anything, ya know? In fact I pretty much hated him after a while. I just took it cause I figured, I dunno, maybe it was what I deserved after being such a fucking demon as a kid. And for treating people like shit for years. For being a rotten bitch to my sister, for what I did to you. Maybe I wouldn't find anyone better, maybe I didn't deserve to."

"No fucking way you deserved any of that," he said and she gently scoffed. "No I'm serious, this guy sounds like a real garbage person. So what made you leave him?"

"That's a good question. I guess the dysfunction was too much, after a while. There was one night he got really...violent. I was texting Pheebs about y-," she caught herself, and backtracked. "Er, _ice cream_ and he went through my phone and read a bunch of stuff we had been talking about. Not just about that, but all the stuff I told her about him and how I was thinking about leaving his ass. He flipped his fucking lid. I thought he was gonna kill me. He started going off about how I can't talk to Phoebe anymore and he started talking about you. So I smashed his face in. It pretty much ended after that," Helga said. Arnold was stunned. He never would have imagined someone like Helga getting pushed around like that, but it actually made a lot of sense too.

"What a fucking prick. Wait, why did he talk about me?"

"Oh, he fucking hated you. Even before him and I started dating he hated you," she answered.

"What, why?"

"Because you're _you._ He was into me basically as soon as he met me. Anyway, I talked about you sometimes to all my friends. I guess he knew he could never compare. He was actually a pretty cool guy when he wasn't a dick. Too bad he was such a fucking mess of a person who liked to practice his shitty right hooks on my face."

"And he did that a lot?"

"Hit me? Oh yeah. I got him back pretty good a few times though. He was only real scary when he was on something. Till the end, anyway. He tried to fuck me up a few times for leaving him. Fucking pussy shit," Helga said in disdain. She was resting her head on her knees and was staring at nothing in particular.

Arnold was not a big fan of the hollow look in her eyes and felt his own swirl with hatred. He struggled to find the words to respond to all of this. First and foremost he wanted to kill the son of a bitch. How could one person break her like this? This guy didn't deserve to breathe the same air as Helga, let alone put his hands on her. He didn't even know him and yet he imagined his hands squeezing Tyler's windpipe and gleefully watching the light slip from his eyes.

Though he couldn't help drawing certain comparisons, the dude sounded like someone Arnold could be friends with, minus the abusive qualities. He kept thinking back to one thing in particular she said, about how she couldn't handle the dysfunction anymore. Granted, Arnold would never dream of laying a hand in her, but would she say the same thing about him someday? That he was too dysfunctional, too much of a fucking mess?

All of a sudden his side hustle seemed a lot less glamorous. Maybe he should tell her, though now didn't seem to be the time. He could think it over, anyway. Unfortunately for him, that wasn't the only thing he would have to come clean about. But there were some things he would have to take care of first before that could happen. He looked over and she offered him a wry smile. He scooted across the floor and pulled her into a hug. Seeing her like this was torture. He made a promise that no matter what, he would do everything in his power to make sure she never had this terrible and defeated look on her face ever again.

"I'm really sorry Helga. I'm so so sorry. I can't believe someone could be so cruel. I swear to god if I ever see the guy, I'll fucking kill him."

Helga tried laughing off what he said, but couldn't help noticing the darkness behind his eyes, "Well thankfully you won't have to worry about that. Now let's quit moping around. We cut class to have fun not do whatever fucking sad sap shit this is."

"Yeah you're right, sorry. It's my fault, for ya know...snooping," Arnold admitted sheepishly.

"Oh for christ's sake," she said with a smirk, pulling out of his hug. "Just shut up and do your line already."

* * *

The two blondes snorted most of the contents of the bag Arnold had put together in a few hours and were laughing and talking just like they used to. It was about three p.m. and Helga suggested they watch a movie while they did the last half gram together. Arnold agreed and sat up on her bed. She asked what kind of movie he might want to watch, and after a bit of a back-and-forth they settled on a cheesy 80s horror flick that neither one had seen before.

Arnold cut up a few more lines for them, and they both took them readily. He was cautious about not doing too much at once, while he wanted them to have a good time he didn't want Helga getting hurt or sick. He figured he had somewhat of a higher tolerance than she did and didn't want to push her past her limit. He was surprised though at how she was able to keep up. Impressed even.

There were a select few drugs he loved, and cocaine was one of them. He had snorted heroin a few times in the past that one of his older friends had scored and he didn't particularly enjoy the feeling. He liked ecstasy and molly, but cocaine was nice because it was so much more controlled and he didn't feel like shit for a week. After that last summer ended, he told himself he would never touch psychedelics like acid or mushrooms again. He figured he wasn't of sound enough mind to ever come close to enjoying his trips.

Pills were another story, he enjoyed benzos and amphetamines like diazepam and Adderall quite a bit. He even liked opiates like oxy or hydro since he could do enough to feel good but without nodding out as badly as when he tried heroin. And once he was able to hone in on what dosages worked for him he could really ride out the high enjoyably. This was especially crucial for him if he was at school, he didn't mind being fucked up but he wasn't too keen on getting caught either. With the amount of illicit stuff he sometimes carried, he had to be careful and not allow himself to get too cocky. Sid was obviously a new obstacle that he didn't foresee, not only did he risk getting exposed to Helga, but the legal risk was there as well. Of course he only started selling at the beginning of the summer, he didn't think things would take such a strange turn so quickly.

The only problem right now however, as was his usual problem when he messed around with any uppers or stimulants, was that he was in a strong state of arousal. He was plenty sexually frustrated to begin with even without the blow, and he couldn't exactly take care of himself right now. His dream from the night before and his recent receival of a blowjob in the woods didn't give him a great baseline, he _was_ still a teenage boy after all. Watching a movie was also not usually on the itinerary if you were high on cocaine. Generally he did it as a party drug, and if he decided to use it at school, it was because he wasn't planning on attending his afternoon classes.

"How much is left?" Helga asked.

"Uh, after those last couple? About a quarter. We should probably just finish it," he said and got up to empty the bag, leaving them both with a generous final line. He offered the tube to her after getting everything square.

"Ladies first."

"Why are you always like that?"

Arnold wasn't sure how to take the question. "Why am I always like what?"

"Always so _nice._ We're sitting around snorting drugs, for christ sake. And you're still like, the fucking golden boy," she said with a laugh.

"Oh uh, I dunno. Should I not be nice? I'm not sure I understand what you're getting at. Is being nice a bad thing?" he asked.

"No it's a good thing. It's just refreshing to know guys like you still exist on this shit planet. And to know you're still as sweet and dense as ever," she answered warmly.

Arnold laughed, "Ya know, you could have just said _sweet_ , but I'll take it. It's nice to know someone out there thinks so highly of me."

Helga sniffed her last portion, handing the tube to Arnold. She stared hard at him as he took the last bit of their stash, he couldn't help but notice when he finished and stared back at her curiously.

"You're really great Arnold, you know that?" She said suddenly. "I feel like...I don't know. Like I really like you, you know?"

Arnold's stomach fluttered like the pages of a windswept book and his heart felt like it could pop. He could only hope it wasn't cardiac arrest or something from all the white powder he had inhaled into his body over the course of the last few hours. Was this a dream, would she fade into a blur and float away like all the other times? There was only one way to find out.

He grabbed her and pulled her onto him, while leaning against the bed. She wrapped her limbs around him, and caressed the back of his head as her tongue readily slid into his mouth. His senses were so heightened that every touch from Helga sent shockwaves through his body. He lifted her off the floor and he fell on top of her onto her plush bed. Helga used her legs to pin Arnold tightly to her and hastily started unbuttoning his shirt. His impatience caught up with him, as he finished the last three or so buttons before pulling his sweatshirt and her cut off over her head.

Arnold's hands hastily went under Helga to unclasp her bra, and she threw it to the side as soon as it unfastened. He didn't want to push her into doing anything, but was elated as soon as her hands fell to unbutton his jeans. He couldn't get them off quickly enough and groaned when one hand gave a small pull to his hair as the other slid his boxers down and he kicked them away. His fingers got to work removing her skin tight pants, while hers wrapped around his hard shaft, sending waves of pleasure through him. As soon as her jeans were off, he rubbed her between her legs. She let out a quiet moan into his mouth, and he felt himself become intoxicated by her. He would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous, but as soon as she pulled his hands from her and rubbed her sex against his, his craving for her quickly drowned that out.

Never had Arnold wanted something as badly as Helga. Not just her body, but everything. He wanted all of her to be his. Her laugh, her radiant smile, her eyerolls and her sarcastic remarks couldn't belong to anyone else. No matter what he had to do, he would do it all and more just to make her his. She pulled her mouth from his, her eyes half lidded and lips swollen.

"Do you want to keep going?" She asked. He nodded enthusiastically, making her chuckle softly. "Then fuck me."

Suddenly a thought hit that both irritated and disappointed him. "I really want to. _Really._ But I don't uh, I don't have a condom."

Helga smiled and laughed, "I'm on birth control, you idiot."

The words were like music to Arnold's ears. He hoped his instincts would do him well, considering he had never had sex before. His mouth fell to her neck and chest, bestowing her with kisses. He gave her breasts a few gentle nips and her sharp breaths drove him wild. She grabbed his member and guided him between her legs. He slowly entered and once he was fully inside of her his entire body tingled with pleasure so great he let out an audible gasp. Helga moaned in a way he had never heard before that reverberated in his ears like a song he wanted to hear on repeat. He slowly pulled himself back before knocking his hips forward again, and each time he did her voice rang out, egging him on.

He positioned himself so he was up on his knees and her legs wrapped around him, keeping him inside of her. She dug her nails into his thighs, and he held her by her hip bones. He watched himself moving inside of her, a sight he made sure he wouldn't soon forget. The movement of her breasts each time he plunged into her along with the sound of her breathy gasps and moans were etched deeply into his brain. His dream was easily overshadowed by the real thing, and he was certain that even without the influence of cocaine he had never felt anything this good.

The pleasure was so immense at first it was almost too much for him to bear, as much as he wanted to just hold her down and ravage her. He started off very slow and deliberate, getting a feel for Helga and letting his body desensitize. The sensation soon wore down a bit, and he could increase his speed and force. As he quickened his pace she pulled him down onto her and rolled them over, positioning herself on top of him.

His hands massaged her breasts as she sensually rolled her hips forward and back, making him groan at the slightly different but wonderful feeling. Arnold could feel how wet she was as she slid herself around on top of him. And just like in his dream, he started rubbing her clit intently to which she responded by slamming herself into him with vigor. They moaned and sighed and panted together as they approached climax.

This was everything he hoped his first time would be and more. They were now connected in a way that bound them to each other. Their bodies had physically merged, and never did he imagine how precious this notion was until now. He never wanted to let her go, never wanted to be away from her ever again. He could make this work, he _had_ to.

As he fiercely and quickly thrust into her, he felt a warm and tingling sense of pleasure building. It was so intense it made his vision spotty and distorted. Helga shrieked and her body started trembling atop his, he sighed as his groin released pure euphoria. Endorphins flooded his brain as his synapses rapidly fired, leaving him satisfied in a way that was akin to being wrapped in a plush, warm blanket.

Helga collapsed on top of him and the two were panting from exhaustion and their intense orgasms. This was her first _real_ time having sex as her actual first time had been written off long ago as being non-existent. This experience only further validated that. _Finally_ , she thought. The day she had dreamt of and fantasized about for so long had finally come to fruition. She had made love with the boy of her dreams.

Helga laid on him for a while, Arnold's arms snugged around her and their pelvises still locked together. Neither dared move so as not to let the moment end a second before it had to. Her cheek was laid on his chest, and he kissed the top of her head as if it was the most precious thing his lips had ever touched. She wanted to keep him there with her forever.

"I really like you too, by the way," he said, breaking the silence. "A dangerous amount, as a matter of fact." She looked up at him and he gave her an impish smirk. He grabbed her wrists firmly and pulled her up to him, kissing her deeply. He was really hopeful they could go for round two.

Suddenly Helga thought she could hear the sound of the front door opening and closing.

"Olga? You home?" She heard her father's voice booming from downstairs.

_Crap. He's home early._

"Arnold you need to get the fuck out of here," she said as she jumped off of him.

"What? How?!"

Helga frantically looked around as she heard her father's footsteps slowly ascending the stairs.

"Window! _Go out the window,"_ she hissed.

"The win-" Arnold started, hastily pulling his pants on. "And what, break my fuckin' ankle?"

Footsteps hit the top of the stairs and she grew desperate, throwing him his remaining clothes and backpack and kicking the piece of glass along with the pen tube and razor under her bed. She pulled on a pair of underwear and an oversized shirt with lightning speed.

"Yep!"

"W-wait maybe we could just-"

"Get the fuck out, Football Head!"

"Fuck alright I'm going," he said, opening the window and propping himself on the sill while stuffing his items in his backpack, but suddenly stopped. "Text me?"

"Arnold, move!"

"Not going till you agree," he said with a devilish grin.

"Fine, just go dumbass!"

Footsteps outside her door. Her eyes were crazy as she looked around the room, making sure nothing suspicious was strewn about. A knock rapped the back of the door.

"Olga? Girl, are you in there?" Bob called out.

She groaned before looking and seeing that Arnold was gone, making her sigh in relief.

"Yes _dad,_ what is it?"

He opened the door and winced upon seeing her knotted hair and sweat covered face.

"What are ya doing outta bed? Christ, you look like hell! I brought home a pizza if you get hungry. I'll be downstairs with your mother," he said before closing the door behind him.

Helga let out the seemingly eternal breath she had been holding. _That was too fucking close_ , she thought before seeking out her backpack to do homework. On the floor was an iced tea can she didn't recognize. Figuring it must have spilled from Arnold's backpack amidst the chaos she went to pick it up and immediately found the object curious.

_The fuck? Is this... plastic?_

She stared at it before giving it a tentative shake. It was hollow and there was definitely stuff inside. She analyzed the can carefully, and saw a lip on the bottom that didn't look like it should be there. She tried to pry it open at first, then noticed there were ridges lining the lip. Looks like all she had to do was unscrew it.


	9. Night Moves

**All cast and characters of Hey Arnold! belong to creator Craig Bartlett.**

**Chapter 8: Night moves**

"Gerald I might have fucked up but I don't know yet," Arnold said on the phone with his backpack slung over his shoulder, making his way back home from Helga's house.

Gerald slapped a hand to his forehead, "Of course you did. Alright, the fuck you do this time?"

"Shit, I don't even know where to start," Arnold muttered.

"Is it really that bad? Is that why you sound so wound up?"

Arnold sighed, "So I kinda convinced Helga to ditch school with me for the rest of the day-"

"Wait a minute, I thought she was sick?"

"Nah she just pretended and got Bob to excuse her," Arnold explained.

"Jesus okay, keep going."

"Well we only really left to begin with because she uh, well," Arnold hesitated. "She kinda wanted to do some blow."

" _What?_ Oh god Arnold, Phoebe's gonna flip her lid at you two if she finds out, ya know that right?" Gerald warned. "You know how protective she is of Pataki."

"Yeah, yeah I _know_ okay? We can deal with Phoebe later. I get it though, why Phoebe is always on the defensive around her. Helga told me about her ex Tyler," he chuckled wearily. "I might be a horrible influence Gerald, I dunno."

"Oh you _think?_ You're taking the girl outta school and feeding her drugs," Gerald replied with disapproval. "You still all coked out? That why you sound so weird?"

Arnold inadvertently started blushing. "Uhh-" he started with his voice seemingly climbing several octaves. He cleared his throat before continuing. "Kinda. I mean, yeah I definitely still am."

"Arnold. Spill it already," his friend commanded. "You're freaking me the fuck out."

"We sort of slept together," Arnold muttered.

"Hold up. When you say slept together, like y'all had a little nap or?"

"...No."

The other end of the line fell silent. Arnold waited for a reply but when one didn't come he thought maybe the call had been dropped. He checked his screen and verified he was still indeed connected to his friend.

"Uh, Geral-"

Laughter erupted from the other end of the line, Arnold was certain he was as red as an overripe tomato at the cacophony of howls coming through the receiver. _God does he really have to laugh like that_? he thought in embarrassment and annoyance.

"Holy SHIT Arnold. You're tellin' me you and Pataki, who you ain't even _with,_ in case you've forgotten-"

"I haven't forgotten," Arnold muttered through gritted teeth.

"You skipped school, did drugs and fucked?"

"Ugh. Yes, okay? To all of that."

"Oh man Phoebe is gonna _kill_ you bro," Gerald said very matter-of-factly.

"You really don't have to keep reminding me of that."

"Damn you two are _twisted_. Well, may I just say welcome to the club. It's about time your mopey ass got laid. I gotta hand it to ya, though. You sealed the deal _quick._ It took me like three years to get that far with Phoebe. So how was it?"

"How was what?"

"The coke of course," Gerald said sarcastically. "God, the _sex_ you idiot."

"Oh _god_ , dude," Arnold gushed.

"That good, huh?"

"I-I mean, I guess I don't really have anything to compare it to," he admitted.

"Trust me, you'd know if it was bad," Gerald said with a chuckle.

"So what do I do now?"

"HA. The fuck if I know. You've dug yourself into a hole, my friend. You even figure out if she wants to be with you? Why she asking you for drugs anyway?"

Arnold groaned, "I didn't really ask. She told me she liked me, that's a good sign right? And I honestly don't know, I was as shocked as you were when she asked me."

He had decided to take the bus for the last stretch home and thoughtlessly scanned his bus pass before taking a seat in the back. He still had some energy from his drug-fueled afternoon, but his legs were like Jell-O at this point and he was getting winded trying to talk to Gerald and walk at the same time.

"Well I think it was pretty obvious that she likes you after everything that went down at Rhonda's party," Gerald remarked.

"Yeah, that was pretty awesome," Arnold replied dreamily, his thoughts taking him back to the night in his bedroom.

Gerald sighed and rubbed his eyes, " _At_ the party. Not after, lover boy. Okay, okay so she said she liked you, you said it back I'm guessing?"

"Yeah definitely. I mean, I don't think I've been being very subtle even before I said it, anyway."

"You could say that again," his friend muttered. "Forgive me for pointing out the obvious here, but Arnold have you ever thought about just asking her out? Like a normal person?"

"Yeah but it's...complicated," he admitted.

"Of course it is," Gerald's eye roll was almost audible at that point. "Look, I dunno what to tell you. There isn't ever going to be a one hundred percent ideal time for you to get back together with this girl. Uh, no offense or anything. But c'mon, you really think she's gonna say no?"

"That's not the problem. I'm pretty sure she'd say yes, but there's a whole mess of shit that I'm pretty sure she would _not_ be cool with."

"Christ, what exactly are you talking about? The fuck you get yourself into now?"

Arnold got off at his stop and walked down the block, arriving at the steps of the boarding house. He sat at the top of the stoop, his head resting on his hand and took a deep breath. This was stuff he was really hoping he wouldn't have to ever tell Gerald about, but he was feeling lost and needed his friend's guidance. He would have to tell him.

"Alright. Let me start from the beginning."

* * *

_No, this wouldn't be cool. It's a major invasion of privacy, I can't just go through his shit like that,_ Helga thought, putting the curious canister on her bedside table. _Someone should teach his ass that._

She paced around her room in discontent. It had been a strange day, to say the least. She wanted to talk to Phoebe and decided to check the time; 5:15. She would likely be doing homework but knowing Phoebe she was probably already close to finishing it. Her family ate dinner like clockwork at 7:00 and she knew her friend liked to have her school work finished before then. She took her phone out and selected Phoebe from her contacts, the line trilled a few times before her friend answered.

"Hello Helga. I heard you had taken ill this afternoon, are you feeling any bette-"

"Yeah, yeah hi Pheebs. Look, I wasn't actually sick, okay? I uh," her voice lowered before finishing her sentence. "Kinda skipped school with Arnold."

"Oh Helga, you didn't," Phoebe said with a slight intonation of disappointment. "Surely you'll be punished for an unexcused absence?"

"Nah I worked it all out, Bob had called me out for the afternoon. Okay look, you know how I didn't sit with you at lunch today?"

"Certainly I noticed, I just figured it was because you were sick. Clearly that was not the case. So what did you and Arnold do, exactly?" Phoebe asked suspiciously.

Helga hesitated and sucked in a sharp breath, " _Well_ , we kinda...got high and had sex at my house." There was a long pause on the other end of the line.

"One moment Helga, I think something is wrong with our connection. Surely you didn't just say what I think you said."

"Pheebs, we did a bunch of cocaine and fucked," Helga said seriously.

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

Helga winced at her friend's language. She was expecting a reaction like this, but regardless of how Phoebe may feel personally about the matter she knew that her friend would always give her sound advice. No matter what. Phoebe had the longest relationship of any of her peers, and never hesitated in giving honest and sensible advice. Why did she even ask Arnold about that? What the hell was she thinking? It's not like it was her first rodeo playing around with something like that, but was she that desperate to understand this strange side of him?

"Look, I get it. It was really stupid of me."

"He's a bad influence," her friend stated.

"It was kinda my idea," Helga admitted. She knew that Arnold had a hand in it sure, but he didn't force her to do anything. She was the one who stupidly asked him for drugs and set the whole thing in motion. Phoebe growled into the phone.

"I'm struggling to form a response, quite honestly. And I can't believe you _asked him for drugs._ " The girl sighed and forced her eyes shut, trying to figure out how to navigate the conversation. "Where exactly did you get... _that_ anyway? And why?"

"C'mon Pheebs, you can't act so surprised, you know I've done it before. And he just had it on him I guess," Helga replied.

"I understand your...illicit inclinations, from time-to-time, but usually you're smart enough to only feed them during more _appropriate_ occasions. And he had it at school? You don't find that the least bit strange?"

Helga paused for a moment, "Okay sure, yeah it's kinda strange I guess."

"Helga I understand how strongly you feel about him, but doesn't this all seem a little unhealthy?"

"What do you mean?"

Phoebe adjusted her glasses before speaking, "I just can't help but feel like history may be repeating itself."

Helga frowned, "I'm not following."

"You have a certain proclivity towards...damaged goods, so to speak. You went down a similar path with Tyler."

"Arnold is nothing like Tyler. I never skipped school to hang out with him. And I sure as hell never slept with him. Plus I've _always_ had a thing for Arnold, that's never changed. He hasn't always been damaged."

Phoebe's voice softened, "I'm not directly comparing Arnold to Tyler. I'm very much aware that Arnold genuinely cares about you, truly. But your impulsivity concerns me. It's like you get so wrapped up in your emotions that your normally rational self becomes overshadowed by your need to fulfill something in you that clearly seeks validation. I'm not faulting you for sleeping with him, though I do think it unwise to act on your more carnal instincts without establishing boundaries regarding your relationship. And let's not forget that Arnold wasn't exactly wholly intact when you first dated, either."

"Alright, alright I get it. So what do you think I should do?"

"It's hard to say. Arnold's current destructive behavior is clearly a coping mechanism of sorts. What I'm worried about is you immersing yourself into this so deeply that you may set yourself up to have your heart broken. You both need to do the work and you need to be proactive and hold Arnold accountable. So you need to overcome the ideal that he belongs on a pedestal. It isn't your job to fix him, only he can do that. The good news is that I believe you can still assist him, but you can't become complacent to his behavior. He also needs to actively seek some change."

"I dunno Pheebs," Helga started. "It's not that I want to change him or anything like that. I don't even mind if he parties or whatever. I'm just not on board with him fucking up his life by choosing to drink or whatever all the time. I could do without him missing school every other freaking day, too."

"Don't misinterpret. I'm not saying he has to change everything about himself or somehow regress into his former ten year old self, he just needs to stop the self destructive behavior. Or he threatens to destroy you along with him," Phoebe explained.

Helga thought about Gertie's words from a few weeks ago. Was this what she was trying to warn her about? Helga personally thought that everyone was taking things a little too seriously, or maybe she just was desensitized to everyone's negative personality traits. She was hoping that Phoebe would tell her to go for it and that things will work out, but she knew the reason she wanted to talk with her was because she knew she _wouldn't_ just sugar coat everything.

"Well, that does make sense. More than anything, I just want him to be happy. As happy as he can be anyway. And I don't suppose happy people do what he does, huh?"

"Precisely. This isn't something that should be done for you solely. His best interests must also be considered. He seems to be doing well now, keep him on that path but encourage him to continue to strive to do better. And take care that he doesn't revert back to how he was a year or two ago."

Helga frowned, "What was he like then? I mean, I know you told me some of it but it's still hard for me to imagine. I mean shit, the blonde idiot who was just in my bed is hard to imagine."

Phoebe sighed, "It varied, he was like a shell of a person a lot of the time. Sometimes he would come to school visibly under the influence of something. Occasionally he was an angry or downtrodden mess and would have fits or outbursts, sometimes resulting in fights with classmates."

"I mean that doesn't sound too off base from where he is now, to be honest."

"True, but he's mellowed out a bit. I'm guessing your presence may be influencing that. Or possibly the absence of his parents. Maybe both. Just don't forget to keep your own self safe, and try to encourage Arnold to continue bettering himself. That's really all you can do."

Helga sat on her bed, she did feel a bit better. "How should I go about it?"

"Distractions might be the key. Ask him to take you somewhere. Try and get him to throw the ball with you. Things like that may be enough for him to realize that while it's fun to party and drink on occasion, there are better ways to handle the darker times in life," her friend explained.

"So just...spend more time with him? Doing normal shit? Damn do I need to quit partying? Cause I mean, I'll do it, but that kind of sucks for me ya know?" Helga's eyes fell to the floor. Her football headed friend was clearly going to be a lot of responsibility.

"I don't think so. I think he needs to understand that there is more to life than that. He may be emotionally dependent on these substances and school may be a tough place for him right now, but I don't think he is physically or mentally addicted. He needs to find better outlets when he is upset. _Party favors_ should be just that, not something to use as a crutch."

"Okay," Helga said. "I think I get it. You're amazing as always Pheebs. Thanks."

"Of course, I'm always happy to assist you," Phoebe replied warmly. "But I admit I am curious...how was it?"

"The sex? Freaking fantastic. Maybe it was the coke or maybe it's just cause he's a little twisted fuck. But god damn."

Phoebe giggled, "It's about time."

"I'm with ya there, Pheebs," Helga checked the time and remembered what she told Arnold before he left. "Listen, I got something I gotta do. See you tomorrow in orchestra?"

"Certainly! Have a good night Helga."

"You too."

Helga hung up and sucked in a breath. _Fuck it,_ she thought and tapped on Arnold in her contact list.

* * *

"Fuck, dude. What are you supposed to do?" Gerald asked.

"That's the thing, I have no idea."

"You gotta tell her," Gerald decided.

"I know that already. I decided today I would tell her everything. I need to be smart about this though. I don't want Helga getting involved," Arnold said.

"I get that," Gerald responded. "Well I dunno what to tell you about all that. You've really fucked yourself bad this time, my friend."

Arnold rolled his eyes, "Gee thanks for all the moral support here." Suddenly he heard a little beep from the receiver, and realized he had another call coming in. His heart fluttered when he read the name. "Uh, hey I gotta go. Helga's calling."

"Oh man I never thought I'd hear you say _that_ again. Only difference is that your balls've dropped now."

_"Gerald."_

"Alright, alright. Catch you later dude," Gerald said and clicked end. Arnold answered the other end, suddenly nervous.

"H-hello?"

"Evenin' Football Head," Helga said plainly.

_How the fuck is she always so casual? It drives me nuts,_ he thought.

"Everything okay?" He asked.

"Sure, texting just seemed kinda silly after the afternoon we had, ya know?"

That made Arnold smile, "Yeah I get it. Well, what's up?"

"Not much, just got off the phone with Pheebs. What about you?" Arnold inadvertently cringed at the mention of their friend.

"Oh uh, how was that? She probably hates me right? And nothing, just talked to Gerald actually."

"I mean, she was pretty pissed but it was kinda funny, really. Phoebe isn't really into partying like that though, ya know? She thinks you're a bad influence, by the way," she said casually and Arnold choked a little in surprise. "How's ol' Geraldo?"

"Wait did she say that?"

"Well doi how else is she supposed to tell me that? Telegraph?" She said with a smirk.

" _No_ , I just meant like, did she say those exact words?"

Helga answered him simply, "Yep. We made her curse too. Pretty priceless."

_What the hell, it was her idea!_ Arnold thought in frustration.

"I even told her it was my idea. Can you believe it?" She added.

"Yeah. Great," he answered.

"Phoebe'll be fine, I wouldn't worry about it. You never answered my question though, how's Gerald? I'm guessing you and him had a similar conversation."

"Uh yeah we did. I mean, he always thinks I'm an idiot so the conversation was basically just that," Arnold lied.

"Figures. What'd he think about me swiping your v-card?" She asked mischievously.

"Do we really need to talk about this?" Arnold replied, pink tinging his cheeks.

"Why not? You embarrassed of me or something?"

"Hell no I'm not _embarrassed,"_ he grumbled. "I told him it was amazing, okay? That what you wanna hear?"

"That's _exactly_ what I want to hear," Helga said, a smile painted her face as she spoke. She grabbed her old baseball from a drawer and laid on her bed, casually using one hand to toss it into the air.

"Oh? Well it was, you were," Flirtation clung to his words. Helga caught the ball and held it tightly above her.

"Is that so? Well we'll have to do it again sometime," she replied.

"Oh, we will."

"Mm, confident aren't we?"

"Of course. You _like_ me, remember?"

Her heart did something of a flip-flop. Of course she liked him, she always liked him. But still, it was kind of adorable how he repeated her words back to her. Like it was the best news he had and was eager to tell anyone who would listen.

"And you like me too, right?"

"It's like I told you earlier, dangerously so," he said.

"Dangerous how?"

"Come over and find out," he said, his sly crooked smile spreading across his face.

"You'll just have to show me another time, because I'm fucking beat," she admitted with a chuckle.

He laughed along with her, "Yeah, me too. Well what are you doing now?"

"Hanging out in my room, tossing a ball around," she answered.

"Oh for real? Sounds nice," Arnold answered, and his brain quickly flicked back to a simpler time, when he and Helga would laugh and play ball together for hours, just the two of them. It was their own little world, when the two of them were playing catch. He missed it.

"We should play some time," she offered, thinking about what Phoebe said.

"That would be awesome, I haven't hit the field in too long. My throwing arm is probably pretty shitty now," he admitted.

Helga smiled, "Well that sounds about right, you always were a lousy pitcher."

"Whatever you say, Helga. Wanna go tomorrow after school?" He asked.

"Seriously? You're for real?" She sat up suddenly in excitement.

"Yeah! I think it would be fun. Plus I get to see you all fired up on the field, huge turn-on," he smiled when her laughter carried through the receiver.

"Alright Arnold, let's do it. Tomorrow after school, then?"

"It's a date," he answered.

"Well I should probably get going, I got math homework to get started on," she walked across the room to retrieve her backpack and noticed the can on her bedside table. "That reminds me, you left something here."

"What is it?"

"I'm not sure, some kind of weird plastic can looking thing," she replied and his heart sank into his stomach, _Fuck._

"O-oh. Cool thanks for letting me know. Did you uh, open it by chance?" He asked nervously, hoping she wouldn't notice his agitation. Unfortunately she did.

"No I have a little more integrity than you do apparently. Why, _should_ I?"

"NO- I-I mean, please don't. It's got some...personal stuff inside," he answered sheepishly.

"You're acting pretty fucking weird about this. Personal _how_ , exactly _?"_ She asked, her eyes narrowing suspiciously at the plastic tube.

He sighed heavily and sat on his bed, his head falling to his palm. "It just is. Just please don't open it, okay?"

She heard the desperation in his voice and shook her head. "Criminy you weeb I was never gonna open it. Calm down. I'll bring it to school tomorrow, cool?"

"Y-yeah that sounds cool," he said, unconvinced by her words.

"Arnold, I'm not gonna open your weird fucking can, okay? Now try and do your homework for a change, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay, see you tomorrow," he said. The call ended and he groaned.

Helga looked at the can again, _Just what the fuck is in this thing, anyway?_ She was curious, but her word was important, especially when given to Arnold. She knew that she should stop "putting him on a pedestal," in the words of Phoebe, but she wouldn't go against a promise. She couldn't help but speculate what might be inside. There were a handful of possibilities.

Was it a weird porn stash he brought to school? Did he have a bunch of human fingers or some shit in there? Drugs, perhaps? Or it could have even been something pretty normal, some keepsakes from his childhood or his parents or good luck charms or something. Helga didn't plan on opening it, that much was certain, it felt too shady. She was just going to have to make _him_ open it, instead.

* * *

Helga was unlocking her locker Tuesday afternoon. School had just let out, she managed to have a very normal day which she was thankful for. She was looking forward to her creative writing assignment, to describe a person who made an impact on your life, good or bad, but names or direct identifiers could not be incorporated. So while you could _describe_ your mother, you couldn't use her name or call her "mom" in the piece. Of course she thought about Arnold, but that seemed like it would be too obvious, too cheesy. When the teacher said that they were able to write about someone who made a poor impact on their lives, that opened the door as well.

There were several negative people she could write about. Tyler and her family came to mind, but she still wasn't sold on that concept either. Should she give any of these people a platform for her creativity? Thankfully she had until Thursday to think about it.

Helga grabbed her math book and binder and stuffed her backpack with the necessary materials for her homework for the night. She saw the plastic canister of Arnold's sitting on the top shelf of her locker and stashed that into her backpack as well. They had plans to meet sometime after school, and it dawned on her she hadn't even established the details of their meet-up. She took her phone out of her pocket when she suddenly felt hands on her hips that slowly crept into a hug. The sudden touch surprised and gave her a little jump, eliciting a chuckle from the perpetrator behind her. A voice close to her ear whispered gently to her.

"Thanks for not punching me," the familiar voice said.

"I seriously thought about it, Hair Boy," she said, her tone clearly reflecting that she was indeed startled.

"I might like it," his lips were touching her ear now. Her heart pounded within her chest, and her breathing turned ragged.

"Careful what you ask for," she managed to utter back.

"I think I'll manage," he replied before pulling her hips close to him, and sighed into the crook of her neck while planting kisses on her skin.

"HEY, at least get outta the halls before you two start horsin' around like that," a stern voice called out. Helga could hear Arnold growl in frustration in her ear. He quickly whipped around to face the intrusive man.

"Sure thing, Mr. Clancy," Arnold replied in feigned subordinance. Helga had to snap herself back to reality, she almost heard nine year old Arnold in those words.

The teacher nodded his reply and watched the two teens as Helga grabbed her things and walked out of the school with Arnold by her side. She had brought her old baseball and mitt along in her backpack just for the occasion of playing catch with Arnold at the old vacant lot. She was so excited, this was exactly what she needed. She didn't realize how terribly she missed playing with Arnold until his absence at Gerald Field last week. A smile was plastered on her face that Arnold was very keenly aware of.

"You excited?" He asked.

"Of course I am! I played with the guys last week and it just wasn't the same without you there, you know? Those dolts can barely catch a ball let alone pitch," she muttered, making Arnold laugh.

"Well are you surprised? Gerald was the only other decent one, although Stinky had a pretty good arm. And Nadine actually, she was a hell of a hitter."

"Yeah she was! Great first baseman too. She still play?" Helga asked.

Arnold shrugged, "Beats me. I don't play either."

"Oh yeah," she answered a bit sadly. "Why is that?"

Arnold had his hands in his pockets and kicked a rock in front of them as they walked together.

"I guess I just don't like it anymore."

Helga found that hard to believe. She remembered how his face brightened when getting a new pack of baseball cards or seeing his favorite player Mickey Kakine come up to bat. He lived and breathed baseball, that was part of why she loved playing with him. They were the two who always took their silly neighborhood games the most seriously.

"Don't like it? Since when?" She asked.

"Since my favorite part of it disappeared," he answered.

"You talking about when Kaline finally retired?"

Arnold didn't answer and Helga decided not to press him. Obviously this was more complicated than him just growing out of the sport or choosing alcohol and delinquency over it like Phoebe had implied. She felt a bit gutted, she couldn't imagine giving up writing, how could he just give up playing ball?

They walked in silence for a bit, and finally arrived at Gerald Field together. Helga still couldn't believe how much it looked very much like she remembered as a child. It almost felt silly, playing there with the grown up versions of her childhood friends while this little chunk of nostalgia retained the same bases, the same gravel, the same everything. Her heart warmed instantly as they crossed the field.

"This place really is the shit. I can't believe how all us fucking street rats made something out of this old dump," she remarked. Arnold smiled fondly.

"Yeah it's pretty crazy. You know Vitello bought it right? The city was talking about rezoning and the field was up for grabs. She bought it so we could keep it. Said this field was the best thing to come to the neighborhood. Guessing because she hasn't had a fly ball come through that front window in years," Arnold explained.

"Oh man we fucked up so many buildings playing our old street games. I can't believe we didn't get our parents sued," Helga said with a chuckle. "Well, you ready to toss the ball around?"

"Of course. Let's go kinda easy to start, I need to warm up my arm," he said and Helga nodded.

They tossed the ball pretty gently back and forth. Helga immediately noticed that Arnold's form was certainly off from what she figured it would be like had he continued playing, but still a bit better than she thought. Arnold could feel it as well, and watching Helga with her almost perfect throws made him a little envious. So he continuously tried to improve his every toss of the ball.

After they had warmed up, they were throwing hard and quick at eachother. Arnold struggled to catch the first couple of fast balls Helga lobbed at him, but again after a bit of back-and-forth he was improving tremendously. She was proud of him for picking up seemingly right where he left off, but couldn't help wondering just how good he might be if he hadn't have stopped.

Helga didn't play a whole lot back in California, not nearly as much as she did in Hillwood, but she did join a co-ed softball team for fun the summer after eighth grade. Most of the kids she played with were older, and she was happy to not have known a single one of them. They all played fairly well together and even won a few games, but softball just wasn't the same. She liked being able to make more complex plays and stealing bases. Aside from that she usually just went to the local batting cages by herself or got together to play catch with one of the girls from the softball team.

Arnold couldn't believe how tight her throwing arm was. She always had a killer throw, but now it was so precise and quick. It was amazing how effortlessly she threw, he thought that maybe if they ever played another game together he should be the one catching her pitches. He didn't realize how much he actually missed this. It was like the two of them were home on that field together, and his heart swelled at the sight of her hair messily pulled back into a bun with sweat on her brow while clad in an oversized pink t-shirt and a mitt on her hand. This is why he fell out of love with the sport, it was something that connected them together even before they were romantically involved as kids. It was like losing a limb or some other equally devastating extremity when she left. He couldn't bear to play like that, it wasn't fun for him anymore.

Arnold then realized just how silly that line of thinking was. Sure it was painful to play without her, but now he could see it was a disservice to her _not_ to. He loved baseball as a child, even when he wasn't playing the sport. It dawned on him just how ridiculous it was to allow something or someone to taint one of the better parts of himself. Not that Helga herself tainted anything, but the memories of being out on the field together did. He should have cherished the good times, not allowed them to morph into something grotesque and unrecognizable. He always dreamed of getting a baseball scholarship to get into a decent college and now he would be lucky to graduate highschool.

Helga could care less about scholarships. She wanted good grades, and sure accolades were nice. But she certainly didn't need the help financially and school teams weren't exactly her thing, she would rather be recognized as an individual anyway. She would love to do something with English or writing, of course but she also had some reservations about making a job out of something she liked. She didn't want her passions to become lackluster when attached to a paycheck and a nine-to-five. She liked the idea of higher education as she had always enjoyed school. She honestly wouldn't mind attending Hillwood College, there was something about leaving her hometown again that felt wrong.

The two blondes continued tossing the ball back and forth, laughing when Arnold fumbled trying to catch Helga's powerful throws. They weren't talking much but didn't have to, just being in that moment was enough for them. Before they knew it, an orange glow encapsulated the atmosphere around them and a chill caught the air. Helga took out her phone to check the time, it was nearly 6:00 and she had homework to do still. They decided to call it a night.

"Can I walk you home?" Arnold asked.

"Sure," she said warmly. "I'd like that."

Without warning he grabbed her hand and they marched down the sidewalk towards her house.

"Thanks for coming out with me tonight, it was fun. You really stink but you were still better than the guys," Helga said with a chuckle.

"I wasn't _that_ bad. It's just been a while."

"I know. Really though, I'm glad you came," she said.

Arnold smiled a sweet crooked smile, "Yeah, me too. Course I'll use any excuse to see you."

She chuckled, "You don't need an excuse, ya know. I like spending time together."

He thought his heart might burst open. Was this the time? Should he ask her out? Sure he had all that other bullshit to deal with, but what if this was the only chance he got? No. It wouldn't be, he would make sure of that. She interrupted his thoughts as they meandered down the concrete path, approaching her house.

"Oh shit I almost forgot," she said and pulled her backpack to her chest. She fished around for a moment before taking out the plastic stash canister. "I believe this belongs to you?"

"Oh uh, yeah thanks for bringing it to me. Sorry about all the trouble last night," he said awkwardly. She wasn't acting any different so he was sure that she hadn't looked at it's contents. He reached out to grab it before she suddenly pulled it away from him.

"What's inside?" She asked seriously.

Arnold was suddenly very nervous. They had just had such a wonderful evening together, he really didn't want to ruin it now.

"Oh nothing, really. Just some stuff, I guess," he answered.

"Some _stuff_ , huh? Open it," she commanded and his anxiety kicked into full force.

"Why?"

"Why shouldn't you? Something you don't want me to see?"

"Well sorta, yeah," he answered honestly.

Helga frowned. _The fuck, dude?_ She didn't understand what he could possibly have to hide, yet as he danced around revealing the innards of the can she felt herself growing suspicious of him. It only made her more agitated, if he was hiding whatever _this_ was, what else could he be keeping from her? He was such an enigma, she never knew what to expect from him. While it was sometimes exciting, she was starting to realize how frustrating that side of him was at the same time. With an eyebrow raised she wordlessly handed the can back to him. He quickly took it and placed it in his backpack. He felt the air growing tense and suddenly felt sick to his stomach.

"Th-thanks. Maybe I'll show you another time."

"Sure. Whatever you say," she replied.

Her demeanor was absolutely frigid and his heart sank at her tone. She didn't trust him, that much they could both be certain of. She felt a fissure tear through her chest, why was he like this? She stared fiercely into his eyes, it took everything he had not to avert his gaze from hers.

Finally, she tore her azure eyes from his mossy ones and turned to go inside. He couldn't bear to let the night end like this. He could come clean about this one thing, right? Of course her possible reaction terrified him, but more than anything he didn't want to pull Helga into the darker recesses of his world. He wanted them to keep playing together in the light. He didn't want to ruin anything. But that look that she gave him just now, one of fury, disappointment, and distrust with a touch of sadness pulled at his heartstrings.

"Helga wait," he said and she stopped dead in her tracks, turning to face him curiously. "I'll show you, but you have to promise not to freak out, okay?"

"I can't promise that," she said honestly.

"Helga _please,"_ he pleaded with her. "It really fucks me up when you're upset with me. I'm really struggling here… I-I can show you, if you want to know."

Helga looked into his eyes and something about the somber and defeated energy they reflected hurt her. She suddenly felt like a giant asshole. How could she make him so uncomfortable, for something that really wasn't any of her business? It wasn't fair. He started to unscrew the bottom and she stopped him.

"Arnold, no," she said to him and he looked at her, confused. "I-I shouldn't be making you do anything you don't want to do, that's not cool. I'm sorry, okay? Just...just promise you'll show me one day? When you're ready?"

He offered a wry smile as he tucked the canister into his backpack, "Sure, I promise."

"I'm holdin' you to that promise, bucko," she said with a smile and turned once more to walk away. "Goodnight Arnol-"

Helga felt a hand clasp around her wrist and she was quickly pulled into Arnold's arms. He put his other hand to her cheek and kissed her deeply, she let her eyes close and melted into him. _God damnit,_ she thought as she wrapped her arms around his neck. His hands fell to her bottom and he gave a gentle squeeze.

"Aren't you going to invite me up?" He said quietly in her ear. She had to catch her breath, her brain felt like someone was playing television static.

"I would, but I have bio homework. Plus I gotta do that creative writing assignment."

He chuckled softly, "Do me first."

It was mighty tempting. Bob's SUV was nowhere in sight and Miriam was probably three sheets to the wind by now.

"Seriously Casanova, I've gotta get this stuff done. Plus who knows what other weird shit you might lose on my floor. We can fuck later," she said, eliciting a very pouty look from Arnold.

"Promise?" He asked.

"Oh Jesus chri- _Yes, I promise_ ," she said with a very exaggerated eye roll.

"Good," he said with a cheeky grin. "Cause I can't stop thinking about you. I'll lose my mind here soon."

"Oh lord you're a fuckin' piece of work. I've created a monster," she said and gave him a tender kiss before stepping back to retreat inside. "See you tomorrow?"

"You better," he replied and waved her off as she walked up the steps and entered the front door.

* * *

Helga finished her dinner of chicken and potatoes then stared at the blank notebook pages. She had hoped food would jump start her brain, but it was to no avail. She hated writer's block, it was especially frustrating now since she essentially had complete freedom to write whatever about whomever she wanted. Of course the first person she wanted to pick was Arnold, but that seemed too obvious and a little cliché for her liking. But it wasn't like she had a ton of options, either. She could pick a family member, but why dedicate time to people who had never done the same for her? It didn't feel right. She could write about Tyler, but that would require thinking about his dumb ass which was the last thing she wanted to do. Of course, she could always write about Phoebe or Rhonda, but unfortunately those two didn't exactly spark any inspiration in her.

Helga still had tomorrow night to finish up if needed, but she usually needed to allow herself a day or two to write anyway. She was afraid if she waited that long she wouldn't be able to present her best piece. Considering this was her favorite class, she wasn't about to let that happen. She was competitive when it came to writing, she wanted to be the best.

She finally came to her final option, herself. That would just have to do. It wasn't a terrible idea, but she didn't want it to come across as self-serving or arrogant. She wanted something honest and raw. The more she thought about it, the more she actually liked the idea. Now to take the pen to paper. Once she started she could usually find her flow, but getting started was the part that was always the most challenging.

A few lines were written on the page, but she furrowed her brows at the words and crumpled it up. Then she tried again, and again. Soon there was a small mountain of paper boulders near her wastebasket, and her frustration quickly climbed. She sighed and laid her forehead onto a clean page of her notebook. _Just fuckin' write something, for pete's sake!_

Helga sighed and held her pen tentatively before writing a few lines, followed by a few more. Soon she had a paragraph, then two. She looked at the completed assignment and smiled, _Not bad._ She could finish the rest tomorrow in class during work time, for now the bulk was done and for that she was thankful. She felt her phone buzz beside her on her bed, and saw that Arnold had sent her a message. She smiled to herself and opened the text.

"Hey beautiful how's the paper coming?"

She quickly tapped out a reply, "Good just finished most of it. How about you?"

Her phone quickly lit up from his reply, "Haven't even started lol"

She shook her head and rolled her eyes, unsurprised by the response. Another message quickly followed that one.

"So what are you doing now?"

"Texting you obviously football head."

"Wanna hang out?"

Helga looked at the time on her phone, "Uh it's kinda late"

"I'm not hearing a no"

"NO"

"Damn I really thought that would work"

She chuckled, _What a freaking dope._ Her fingers typed out a response, "We can hang out tomorrow Romeo."

"Speaking of Romeo…"

Helga could suddenly hear a soft pelting sound coming from her window. _Are you kidding me?_ she thought, and went to the window. She peered out and sure enough, a blonde headed boy wearing a black hoodie was smiling from the little strip of grass behind her house. She growled and pushed up on the frame.

"You look like a fucking criminal," she said, and rested her elbow on the sill, her head in her hand.

"Come down!" He replied excitedly.

"It's like nine o'clock, Arnoldo. I'm not coming down there."

"Then let me come up!"

Her eyes widened at him, "No freaking way! Go home before my dad hears you and loses his shit. You want Bob to see you dressed in all black trying to sneak in his daughter's window?"

Arnold put his hand on his chin, as if he was very seriously debating the scenario.

_"Arnold!"_ She hissed and he chuckled back at her.

"Alright, alright I get it. I'll get going," he said.

"Hold up, what are you doing out so late anyway?"

"Just wanted to go for a walk, I guess," he said.

"That's bullshit."

"If you woulda came down I could've shown you. Too bad," he replied, teasing her.

"That's not gonna work, but nice try. Goodnight Arnold."

"Goodnight, beautiful."

Helga smiled and closed the window. She couldn't help but wonder as she watched him skulk off into the night. Considering the time they had spent together already, she had a feeling that he only stopped there in passing. Something done out of spontaneity, like he was perhaps already in that neighborhood for something else. Was she reading too much into this? Maybe he really did walk all the way up town to see her, but her gut told her that was a naive consideration. And she knew that even if she had come down as he suggested, there was no way he would actually take her along if he was up to something sketchy. _Just what are you doing, Arnold?_

A thought suddenly hit her and she couldn't decide if it was brilliant or totally insane. She pulled a black sweatshirt and beanie from her closet and quickly put them on along with a pair of sneakers. She would have to be quick if she was going to tail him. This wasn't something that should be too difficult, she had made a habit as a child of following him all over town without detection. Fingers crossed he was still as dense as he was back then. She crept down the stairs and quietly closed the back door behind her. She had a general idea of the direction he had taken off in and ran in near silence after him, determined to uncover at least one of his secrets.


	10. Means to an End

_**Possible TW: light sexual coercion and unwanted sexual advances (kissing). Drug use.** _ **All cast and characters of Hey Arnold! belong to creator Craig Bartlett.**

**Chapter 9: Means to an end**

Helga moved silently, tracking her target like a wolf hunting prey. She knew Arnold couldn't have gotten far, but _where_ he had gone was definitely an issue. She had a general sense of the direction he had gone, and she could only hope that he didn't stray too far off track. If she was correct, he was walking towards the large park behind her house. The park itself would offer her decent cover, as there was a pond and lots of trees she could camouflage herself among.

The park was very dimly lit, with the faint amber glow of street lamps offering very little solace in the dark of night. Helga kept herself off the sidewalk, instead meandering behind the trees and shrubs hugging the sides of the concrete. She slowed her pace for a moment, her eyes still struggling to adjust to the mostly black air around her. This had not been well thought out, that much she was certain of as she snagged her jeans on a twig. So far her search yielded no sign of Arnold, and just when she was about to give up and turn around she caught sight of a silhouette just ahead.

Helga couldn't be sure it was him, and she moved as fast and quietly as she possibly could as she bridged the distance between them. Once she was several yards behind, she sighed in relief. It was definitely Arnold. He was striding along quickly, he certainly looked like he was walking with something of a purpose. As if he had somewhere to be. She kept quite a bit of space between them to avoid detection, but made sure he didn't get too far ahead of her and lost him.

Arnold's hands were shoved in his pockets and he pulled his hood up to cover his head as a soft drizzle started falling from the sky. Helga watched him carefully as they traipsed through the park. The hardest part would be continuing to follow once they made it to the streets, the city didn't offer the same coverage that the little forested patch they were in now did. She would have to channel her nine year old self to maintain stealth, but she was determined. Just as she suspected, he only used the park to cut through to a different part of the city and he turned onto a sidewalk as he exited the park. The area wasn't totally familiar, so she made sure to check landmarks and signs as she followed along, the last thing she wanted to do was get lost.

Helga made sure to stay at least a block behind him, and kept her eyes laser focused on the back of his head. She had to laugh to herself a little, he was so completely oblivious to her presence, just like when they were kids. He was just as blissfully unaware now as he was back then. Suddenly he started heading up the steps of an older, run down apartment building. She concealed herself behind a nearby car and watched him as he buzzed inside. It was frustrating not to know exactly what he was doing, and made her spy mission seem like something of a failure. It was no sooner that he disappeared inside that he reappeared, just minutes later. Clearly whatever he was doing there wasn't something that required a great amount of his time.

Helga was perplexed, but continued following Arnold as he walked down the sidewalk. _Wait, did he always have that backpack?_ she wondered to herself. Soon he was turning the corner, and she almost lost him as her attention span had fallen to the newly acquired backpack and his lightning fast visit to the partially dilapidated old building. After a few more blocks, she started recognizing the structures around her. This part of town had some older buildings that were definitely familiar, but it was clear construction was booming judging by the newly erected sidings and walls lining the lots of the area.

 _Why do I recognize this part of town?_ Helga asked herself. There wasn't anything very remarkable that stood out to her, it was mostly office buildings and small stretches of residential facades. Arnold soon hung a left at a place where she had unconsciously predicted he would. She's definitely been here before, and once she crossed into the old junkyard where Arnold had entered, it immediately dawned on her.

This place used to be amazing as kids, there were all sorts of cool treasures they would find there. Not to mention the old forts and contraptions they all rigged up together. It was definitely spookier at night, something about seeing rusted old cars and broken down appliances from decades ago in the pale moonlight made her skin crawl a bit.

 _I wonder if it's still here…_ she thought to herself and soon the question was answered. Arnold opened the back of what looked like an old ice cream or freezer truck and disappeared inside, answering her question. The old hideout was something of a refuge for Helga and her Hillwood companions. Although there were a few times they had been found out but only ever by older kids, adults daren't try to seek them out here, so it was generally a safe haven. All of her peers had escaped many a pantsing, swirly, and general ass kicking here. She hoped the old place hadn't changed too much and if nothing else that at least one piece of it had remained the same. If she was right, there should be a small opening around to one side, where she might be able to witness whatever was happening inside, if she was lucky. Not a lot of people knew about the old porthole, fingers crossed that it was still her little secret.

Helga made sure to look around before approaching the hideout. Once she was certain that the coast was clear she rounded to the right handside. She very quietly moved a few tactfully placed 2x4s. Once the faint glow of light was shining up at her, she knew she found exactly what she had been looking for. It was a small piece of glass, possibly a sliding window from the back of an old truck, that acted as something of a discreet skylight. Just small enough to be fairly unassuming, but perfect for a set of outside prying eyes. She used this old window to spy on Arnold and his friends when they were younger. It lent a perfect overhead view of the entire main room of the hideout. Assuming that the other areas of the old fort existed, she hoped he only needed to do whatever it was he was doing in that first room, where her vantage point allowed her to see everything.

Peering down through the muddy glass proved a bit difficult so Helga very gently used her sleeve to wipe the excess grime off. She was careful so as not to bring any attention to what she was doing. She was unable to hear anything, minus the muffled sound of what she _knew_ was Arnold talking, along with a few other boys and a couple girls. Helga examined everyone in her line of sight, she saw Arnold of course, and was instantly irritated to see Sid at well. There was a husky, tall brown haired boy who she determined was an older classmate named Torvald. One of the girls seemed familiar, a redhead, but Helga couldn't for the life of her remember her name. She did however recognize the brunette as Sid's companion from the bonfire just a few days ago. There was also one other boy who again, was familiar enough, but his name eluded her memory.

The hideout had been changed a bit since the days of Helga's youth. There was what appeared to be a ragged maroon colored rug along with a couple of old couches and folding chairs. A distressed looking glass coffee table sat in the middle, and their source of light was a few propane powered camping lanterns set in various areas of the room. She watched as Arnold sat down on one of the couches, the redhead plopped down very close beside him as he opened the backpack pulling out it's contents. Helga felt a tinge of jealousy surge through her when she saw the girl put a hand on Arnold's knee. _Fucking bitch,_ she thought.

Arnold unloaded a few different bags of whatever was inside, he unfurled one of the bags and set it on the coffee table in front of him. Helga's eyes darted between him, the overly friendly young woman, and the bag on the table. He opened the zip-lock and Helga struggled to see the contents within. He passed out a few smaller baggies to everyone in the room, then dumped out what appeared to be three ovular, yellow… _pills?_ He took what Helga thought was a small lighter and smashed them up. The others rifled through their own stashes, before handing Arnold money. _A lot_ of money.

The girl sitting beside Arnold smiled bashfully at him and wrapped her arms around him into a hug. He smiled and offered her a rolled up bill to snort whatever substance he had just crushed up in reply. Helga felt tears welling up in her eyes and she felt as if her heart was a delicate piece of glass that had been smashed and now splintered into a million painful shards. It was bad enough what he was doing, apparently providing very illicit services to the delinquents of their school. But watching this girl making heart eyes and leaning into him, and for him to offer her something seemingly in exchange or in favor of her suggestive actions broke her heart. She watched as the two laughed together, and the girl gave him a playful shove to his shoulder.

Helga could kill the pair of them, the drug dealing was like gasoline and this thin, pretty girl with hair like fire was a dropped match. The result was a raging flame of emotion spreading throughout the blonde onlooker. What was the point of the last two weeks? Disgust entangled with her vexation as she watched Arnold crush more of the yellow ovals and snort them.

 _You fucking prick,_ she thought. She couldn't watch anymore, that cunt could have him. Helga peeled her eyes from the glass, carefully setting the planks back, and turned to walk away. What a surprise when she stood face-to-face with the last person she was hoping to see.

"Oh shit! Just what the fuck are you doing here, Pataki?" Sid asked with a sneer.

* * *

Helga stared at Sid dumbfounded. _Fuck, fuck, fuck._

"Oh n-nothing! Just decided to go for a walk is all. Makes sense I'd run into you here, this is a junkyard after all. Welp, I should get running home, later loser," she said as she started to walk off. Sid grabbed her by the arm and whipped her around, hard.

"Not so fuckin' fast, you liar. Arnold said that he had plans earlier, tried ditchin' out on us. Said he'd get our shit later and he almost got his ass beat for it, you know that right? Now you're here?" Sid was eyeing her very suspiciously. "Funny I see you crouching over that old window. Now I'm not going to ask you again, what the _fuck_ are you doing here?"

Helga's heart was pounding. How could she let herself get caught? She needed to think of something and fast, but the cogs spinning wildly in her brain failed in producing an excuse.

"Listen, what is all this? What did Arnold give you? And who is that girl down there?" Helga asked.

"If I answer your questions, you answer mine," Sid replied.

"Fine."

"This is the Den. Turns out our old hideout makes a great place for our uh, _transactions_ to happen without anyone finding out. Except for _you_ apparently. Your little boyfriend never tell you about his side hustle?" He asked. Helga stared at him wordlessly and he smiled smugly. "That's too bad. As for what he gave me, and all of us including that _girl_ , is Percocet. Course that isn't all that he's carrying. But I'm thinking you guessed that by now."

"And the girl?"

"That's Natalie. Real fucking whore, that one. And a fiend. She'd probably blow the kid right now for a handful of pills. Say, doesn't Arnold got a thing for redheads?" Sid asked mockingly. Helga felt her blood boil. "Guessing you came here for a little visit? If you wanted a fix and a fuck so bad, I'd be happy to oblige."

"Shut up. So they're not together, then?" Helga said.

" _Together?_ Look, Natalie ain't exactly looking for love, and I don't think she's his type. Don't think he's lookin' for his dick to fall off," Sid said matter-of-factly and Helga felt some of her anger melt away. "So tell me, how do _you_ know about this place? Arnold know you're here?" Sid asked.

"I don't, and n-not exactly," she admitted and a smile crept across his face

"I could go and get him for you," he offered, though Helga was well aware he wasn't doing it out of the kindness of his heart.

"NO. Don't. I followed him here, okay?"

"No shit? That's actually crazy, you know that? That why you're dressed like a goddamn jewel thief? You didn't think to just ask him where he was going?"

Helga's eyes fell to the ground at the question.

"Oh I get it, you thought he'd lie, huh? Honestly, he probably would have. So tell me, you figure out everything you wanted to? You glad to finally find out just how big of a piece of shit he is?"

How could she respond to that? Of course she was glad to finally know the truth, but it was something of a double edged sword. She didn't think his fringe lifestyle ran this deep, and it was understandably disappointing. Sid was making her exceptionally nervous, however. She didn't exactly want Arnold to know she followed him, while she felt it was justified with what she had uncovered, it wasn't exactly her business. Her mind recalled the strange can, and how despite Arnold's initial resistance, he _did_ offer to show her the contents. And Helga was very much positive now of what it contained, though she always sort of had the thought in the back of her mind. Suddenly everything made a lot more sense to her now. The coke, the can, the backpack. Not to mention his constant absence from class and lunchtime. She couldn't help wondering if perhaps he would have been more forthright with his activities for the night had she pressed him, or came with him as he requested.

What would she do now? This complicated their already complicated relationship that much more. She hated to admit that this whole thing didn't exactly _shock_ her. She was worried about how things would play between the two of them. They both betrayed each other's trust. Every part of her wanted to take tonight back.

"Y'alright Pataki? You seem tense," Sid said.

"No," she admitted. "No I'm not alright, dipshit. This whole thing is fucked."

Sid didn't say anything, just stared at her curiously.

"You sure you don't want me to grab him?"

Helga sighed, she was petrified thinking of what might happen to them. If Arnold knew that she had found this out, and _how_ she found this out, would they have a chance at a relationship? She wanted to help him, but she wasn't so confident that he wouldn't choose the drugs over her. It occurred to her that if he was unaware that she was trying to help him, she might have more success.

"No Sid," Helga finally answered. "I don't want him to know that I was here. He can't know that I found this out. Listen, _do not_ tell him anything, okay?"

"Oh? And why shouldn't I?" He asked.

She knew she wasn't in a position to make any threats, but no harm in trying right? "If you tell him I'll crack your stupid head open."

"Keep talking like that and I'll drag you in there right now," he stepped closer to her, so much so that his nose was nearly touching hers. "Got it?"

Helga growled, _"Fine._ What's it gonna take for you to keep your trap shut, then?"

"Hm I could think of a few things," he said as he stepped back and his eyes looked her up and down. Her eyes widened, _Kid really does play dirty, criminy._

"How about this," he started, and she anxiously waited to hear his request. She could only imagine what horrible, disgusting thing he may demand from her. He couldn't have been that stupid though, she would rather tell Arnold right now than say, sleep with someone as sleazy as Sid. "You give me one kiss."

Helga made a face, "What, why?"

"Y'know, you've been obsessed with this dumb ass for far too long," he said, she was about to interject but he cut her off. "Don't try to deny it, I'm not an idiot like blondie in there. You may not have been anything to look at when we were kids, but there's always been somethin' about you I kinda liked Pataki. I just want a little taste, that's all."

"A _taste?"_ She asked in disbelief.

"Unless you wanna give me more, I could work with that," he said and shrugged his shoulders.

"I wouldn't kiss you if I had a gun to my head, you disgusting little rat," she said and the smile quickly fell from his face. "Go ahead and tell him, if that's how you wanna play this."

"Fine. You've probably had his dick in that mouth of yours, anyway," he muttered. "Oh well, guess I'll go get him then."

Helga grabbed his arm, "If I do this, you won't say a word?"

"Not a word."

"And you won't tell _anyone_ if I do?"

"I'm not a five year old, so no," he said.

"Agree to disagree. Why a kiss, anyway?" She asked. He shrugged and his face got uncomfortably close to hers.

"I like pretty things and you got a pretty mouth," he explained, Helga shuddered.

"I thought Arnold was your friend though?" She asked.

"What's your point?"

"Well that's a real shitty thing to do to your friend," she said.

"You know what else is shitty? Punching your friend in the face," he responded.

"He only did that because you were being an asshole."

"D'you know everything I've done for that fucker? I've saved his goddamn life, and that's how he repays me? For makin' a couple jokes to some girl he's just trying to sleep with?"

"What are you talking about?" Helga asked. She chose to ignore Sid's comment stating Arnold was just trying to have sex with her.

"There's a lot you don't know. And he's lucky I'm a good enough 'friend' not to spill my guts about everything. Not just to you. Tell me somethin', you think the cops would be interested to know he's been dealing drugs to half of the student body?"

"Is that a threat?" She asked.

"It's not a threat, it's an understanding. I'm no worse a friend to him than he is to me."

"Why are you telling me all this you little weasel?" She asked angrily.

"You'd do well not to talk to me like that. It was cute for a while but the charm is starting to wear off. And I tell you what I _choose_ to tell you," he answered.

"So what then, is kissing me your revenge?"

"Something like that," he said with a shrug. "I think it's a fair price to pay for playing secret keeper for you two." Sid smiled wickedly, it made Helga's skin crawl.

"So if I kiss you, you'll keep your mouth shut about Arnold, and you won't tell him I was here?"

Sid smirked, "You have my word."

"What makes you think I won't go in there and tell him all this right now?" She asked.

"You do that and I'll have the cops here so fast it will make your fuckin' head spin."

Helga sighed hopelessly. She knew she was probably going to regret this, but now it went beyond herself. Sid had her backed into a corner, literally and figuratively. Why couldn't she have just stayed home? He was using her as a pawn in whatever game of chess he was playing right now, and even though she might have to cave for now, she was determined not to allow him the upper hand.

"This is the _only_ even remotely sexual thing you get from me. You got that?" She said through gritted teeth.

"Sure thing, course you might wanna come back for more after this."

"Like _hell_ I will."

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"I'm waiting," he said with a disgusting sneer. Helga squeezed her eyes shut, the last thing she wanted to do was put her mouth anywhere near Sid. But a kiss is harmless enough, right? She's kissed lots of people, it doesn't have to mean anything. She gulped, it was now or never.

She grabbed Sid by the collar of his leather jacket and pulled his mouth to hers. _It's for Arnold. It's for Arnold,_ she changed in her head over and over. The smell of his cologne hit her nose, an overly aromatic scent that made her instantly nauseated. She went to push him away from her but he grabbed her wrists and held her against him, she tried twisting away from him and was surprised at how strong this skinny little person was. Tears welled up in her wide eyes as she struggled against him.

 _"Mm,"_ he sighed before suddenly releasing Helga right before she tried striking him with a knee. She shoved him away immediately, and he smiled a smile at her that sent chills down her spine.

Helga spit on the ground and wiped her mouth on her sleeve, "You're disgusting."

"Oh settle down Pataki, I was just fucking messing you," he said. "Don't have an aneurysm."

"I'm leaving now," she told him angrily and pushed past him. She turned around suddenly. "Don't fucking talk to me again, or I'll break your jaw."

"Whatever you say, babe," he said and snickered as she stormed off angrily.

Something told her that this was only the beginning with Sid as she jogged back home with tears streaming down her face.

* * *

Arnold hadn't heard from Helga all morning, he was worried that maybe she was mad at him for showing up to her house unannounced the night before. He would have to apologize for that, it wasn't his intention to bother her. He was supposed to be on that side of town anyway, and if she distracted him from his usual escapades, it was a win for him. Of course, he would have to think of a reason for why he was out and about, maybe she would buy that he just really wanted to see her. It wasn't really a lie, after all she occupied the vast majority of his thoughts. He didn't even realize that Brooke's friend, Natasha or Naomi or whatever, was practically crawling into his lap. Thankfully, she only wanted one thing, and it wasn't him.

Arnold found himself worrying that maybe sleeping with her had made him too attached. It wasn't that he only wanted to have sex, though all she had to do was say the word and he would make it happen, but really hejust wanted to be around her in any capacity. So when she didn't respond to his good morning text, or the following one asking her to have lunch with him, it made him more than a little bit sulky. And now that fourth period was over it meant that lunchtime was starting, it annoyed him that she couldn't even just text him to say "no." He dumped his belongings in his locker and grabbed his sack lunch. He turned around and instantly felt a pair of lips lunge at him. He gasped, taken aback by the random encounter but he quickly realized it was Helga.

Where was this coming from? She just spent the better part of the morning ignoring Arnold, and now this? He was about to ask her about it until a hand went up the back of his shirt, and her tongue sprung into his mouth. He pulled her hips close to him, and he quickly forgot what he was going to ask her about. In fact, he would take her ignoring him all morning if this was what he could expect, it was a great trade off.

"HEY," an angry male voice said, "What did I _just_ tell you two about PDA in the halls? Take it outside."

The blondes pulled away from one another, Arnold didn't even look at the man as he uttered, "Sorry, Mr. Clancy." No sooner that the words came out of his mouth was he being quickly pulled out the back door of the school. He had no idea what Helga had planned, but spending their lunch break making out sounded pretty damn good to him.

"You drove the Packard to school today, right?" She asked him suddenly. "I thought I saw it in the parking lot."

Arnold nodded in reply, he was so tired after getting home last night that he was running late for school this morning. His grandpa didn't do much driving anymore, so he was allowed to use it from time to time. He led them to where the car was parked, his heart racing imagining what she might have in store for him. He went to open the driver's door and she shook her head and motioned to the back seat. He felt himself growing warm from the excitement and as soon as he got the door opened she sat down, then pulled him inside.

He sat next to her and she climbed on top of him, her mouth instantly colliding with his. He couldn't help but notice there was something different about her kisses, they weren't normally this desperate or rough. She was almost kissing him like her life depended on it. She rocked her hips back and forth on his lap and his hand found her breast. She moaned into his mouth, and his other hand fell to her ass, directing the rhythm of her hips as she slid forward and back over his groin. His own hips worked with hers but the sensation only made him want more, and she also seemed to be growing more hungry for him as they moved their bodies against each other.

 _I need him to make that kiss go away. I want him to erase it from me_ , Helga thought before guiding them to lie down across the back seat of the old Packard. Arnold seemed enthusiastic as always, and she loved how warm and passionate he was with her. She bit his lower lip, then his earlobe, before nipping and sucking at his neck. He was panting in her ear, and his hand wasted no time in making its way between her legs. She had worn a dress today, and neither could have been more pleased with her choice. He slid one finger into her, and she moaned and whimpered with every movement he made.

Helga was so wet, and all he could think about was how it felt to be inside her. She was soon fumbling with his pants, and her hand grasped his erection, quickly working to pleasure him. He wanted more, and apparently so did she as she pulled his hand out from inside her panties, pulling the crotch of the fabric to the side and quickly lowering herself onto him. They both gasped as their pelvises locked together. He worked the top of her dress down, exposing her breasts and pulled her close as he moved them back into a sitting position, tongue teasing her nipples. He pulled her long hair to one side, exposing her neck before suckling and kissing her there.

She was moaning breathlessly into his ear, and he didn't even notice the warning bell ringing as he continued slamming his hips into hers. The deeper and harder he went, the more her body reacted to him. The more she dug her nails into the back of his neck or put her mouth on him. Her voice would crescendo into what was almost a scream, or would turn ragged and almost hoarse, he found that he loved the sound of both. She said his name, and he whispered how beautiful she was, how good she felt. He kissed every part of her that wasn't covered by clothing, and his hand would work to gently caress her hair before deciding to pull it and make her scream his name again.

Arnold was very much relieved that sex was still as amazing and addictive with Helga when he was sober. He was hoping that would be the case, since it wasn't cocaine he had been craving the last day and a half. They were both sweating and hugging each other tightly as they continued making love. Their pace had slowed down a bit, with Arnold arching his back to thrust himself as deeply as possible, wanting to memorize and feel every inch inside of her with each deliberate motion.

 _"I love when you fuck me,"_ Helga said in a near whisper, Arnold thought he would lose his mind at the words and they reignited something in him. He enthusiastically nipped and suckled at her uncovered chest and neck, leaving small marks all over her torso. She in turn had her hands up the back of his shirt and was dragging her nails down his shoulder blades and spine, his own neck covered in purple, bruise-like circles. He could feel the familiar and wonderful feeling building up in his groin, and as he moved forward and back inside her it brought him closer to orgasm.

Finally the release hit him, he uttered her name over and over as she held him tightly and planted gentle kisses on his damp forehead. Once they were finished they each regained their normal breathing and she hoisted herself off of him. She fixed her dress and panties and smoothed her hair down while he buttoned his pants. She took out her phone and her eyes widened when she saw the time.

 _"Shit_ , we're like ten minutes late for class!" Helga exclaimed and Arnold looked at her like it was the strangest thing she could have ever said.

"So what? Just say you were running late or got stuck in traffic," he replied.

"God you're dense, we're in the same class, bucko," she snapped, then started poking at one of the hickeys. "Christ I look like I fell down a flight of stairs." Her head whipped furiously to look at him and he just shrugged at her innocently. She then saw that he indeed possessed numerous bruise-like marks, and it was painfully obvious what they were.

"What?" He said and she motioned him to look in the mirror. "Oh god damn it, grandpa won't let me live this one down. Well what do we do now?"

"Arnold I can't miss class again, I'm going to have to just suck it up. Do you have a sweatshirt I can borrow?"

"Yeah, but what about me?"

"Arnold I have hickeys down to my fucking chest, I can't just stroll into class like this," she whined.

"Ugh fine, here," he said and grabbed a blue sweatshirt from under the passenger side seat. "I think I have a flannel in my locker."

Helga pulled the sweatshirt over her head and looked into the rearview mirror hopelessly. "You don't have anything with a hood or something? You can still see some of the ones on my neck."

"Sorry no such luck. Don't you have anything in your locker?"

 _"No_ , it was nice outside so I didn't bring one. I just wore this stupid dress like an idiot," she remarked.

"I don't think you should wear anything _but_ dresses," he said mischievously.

"Easy access? That why?" She said teasingly.

"Mm something like that," he said and pulled her back onto his lap. "We could always _not_ go back and just do this all afternoon."

"Oh? You sure you wouldn't rather do algebra instead?" She asked him.

"Yeah you're right, numbers are pretty great," he said with a smirk.

"Are you sure? Better than this, even?"

"I dunno. Might have to do it again, so I can really draw a comparison."

She looked at her phone again, "God damnit let's go, Arnoldo. Now we're fifteen minutes late."

He whined as she lifted herself off of him. She grabbed her backpack from the floor of the backseat and they exited the car together. Thankfully his locker was literally right on the way to the creative writing classroom, so the quick detour wouldn't slow them down any. They flew into the building with their hands intertwined, and stopped off to grab Arnold's flannel. They ran to class hand-in-hand together, giggling with glee as they did.

Finally they made it outside the classroom and let themselves in. Everyone turned to look at them, some of their mouths agape and others snickering at the two teens' disheveled and suspiciously spotted appearance. The teacher gave them both a strange look as they sat down among the circle of desks next to each other.

"Enjoy your lunch?"

* * *

Arnold and Helga worked through class silently, their teacher continued to shoot them glances but made no other comments to them as they diligently worked. Helga was working to edit her paper while Arnold was just getting a start on his. They were both extremely distracted, and it was not lending them much opportunity to be productive. Soon the bell rang, and the teacher asked Helga to stay after class, earning her a chorus of "oooh"s from the class. She shot them all a dirty look, and their heckling subsided as they exited the classroom.

Helga looked around awkwardly, "So what did you-"

"I meant to ask you yesterday Ms. Pataki, are you feeling any better?" Ms. Dorrant asked her with an eyebrow raised. Helga could have kicked herself as her cheeks reddened inadvertently.

"Uh y-yeah much better now, teach," she muttered. Ms. Dorrant stared at her with arms folded across her chest.

"Glad to hear. I couldn't help but notice you've been spending a lot of time with Arnold Shortman."

"Oh yeah, we've known each other since we were kids," Helga explained.

"He's got a bit of a reputation, you know. Of course, it seems you have something of one yourself," she replied.

"Um, I'm not sure I follow," Helga lied.

"I thought you said you've been friends since you were children?"

"Well we have but-"

"So you're telling me that you're completely oblivious to his behavior?" Ms. Dorrant asked.

"Not exactly I-"

"He's a nice boy, there's no denying that. It's strange that such a nice boy could care so little for his studies. His papers aren't bad you know, riddled with mistakes, but the substance is there. And I admit, the fact that he's only been absent from my class twice in the last two weeks is miraculous. However, I expect better from you Ms. Pataki. You're a brilliant writer, and I know you've got something of a fiery spirit, there aren't a lot of people cut from the same cloth as you are. I don't want you to squander your talent," she said. "Now I don't really think you were sick Monday, and today's bizarre entrance only made it more obvious. Tell me Ms. Pataki, are you dating Mr. Shortman?"

"Well no not-"

"Interesting. You seem to be impacting the boy, have you considered how he might be impacting you?"

 _If only you knew the half of it,_ Helga thought.

"Uh yeah, actually I've been thinking about that a lot, lately," Helga admitted.

Ms. Dorrant stared at her and looked as if she was deeply pondering this whole scenario.

"I think you're good for him. Truth be told, I think he's good for you too. Certainly he stokes the fire within you, and that's something. I get the feeling that not a lot of people can affect you like that. Mind you don't get lost in the flames, Helga," Ms. Dorrant looked at her wrist watch. "Well you better get to your next class."

"Sure, but really quick, what do you mean by not getting lost in the flames?"

"Helga, fire is beautiful and hypnotic but also great and terrifying. The right amount can be regenerative, cleansing, even healthy. But remember, you fan a flame carelessly and it threatens to destroy the world; don't stoke it enough and it dies and fades to ash."

Helga's eyes widened a little at the analogy, "So what do I do?"

"Come to class for one, and if you can continue to inspire Arnold to show up that's even better. Don't lose your flame and you just might help his burn brighter," Ms. Dorrant suddenly went to her desk and started writing furiously before handing Helga a slip of paper.

"What's this?" Helga asked.

"A late pass. You don't need to be chastised twice in one day on my account. Just remember Helga, your fire burns bright and hot. Take care."

The bell chimed as if on cue, Helga retrieved her backpack and started walking out the door. Suddenly Ms. Dorrant spoke again.

"Oh and Ms. Pataki? You uh, might consider some makeup for tomorrow," she said, avoiding looking directly at Helga. Helga's face instantly flashed red again and she pulled the sweatshirt up around her neck, making her resemble something like a frightened turtle.

"Yeah, yeah I got it. See you tomorrow," she replied and waved as she walked out of the classroom.

* * *

Helga sat through seventh period, spending the majority of the time staring out the window. The sun was shining which wasn't typical for this time of year in the Pacific Northwest, but it did help her sanity. She was thankful that Sid didn't make an appearance for gym class, which had been giving her anxiety all morning. It figured he wouldn't come, considering his purchase from the night before. The frustration still ran deep, she couldn't help being annoyed by Arnold. But how shitty of her to have so many questions, so many reservations, and instead of confronting them she opens her legs instead.

There was nothing more Helga wanted to do than shake Arnold and scream at him to get himself together. But she couldn't do that now, could she? She shouldn't have gotten so freaked out by getting caught last night, because now a dark cloud of shit was hanging over her head by making a deal with Sid. Phoebe was right, her impulsiveness had finally gotten her into trouble.

Her mind kept repeating the events of the night, one thing stood out in particular though, what was Sid's motive? Clearly Rhonda's party was the catalyst to something, that much she could see. But why so much disdain for Arnold? At this point it was clear that the drugs were the only thing that kept him of any use to the kid. She recalled that Sid had also mentioned something about only disclosing the things he wanted her to hear. That was obviously purposeful, and it made sense.

Helga was obviously being used as a means to an end, but that that was she couldn't begin to figure out. The whole situation was getting messier by the day, should she just throw in the towel now? There was still so much she didn't know, and she wasn't exactly keen on finding it all out. She loved Arnold, really _loved_ him, but this was supposed to be a fresh start for her. Right now though, she couldn't help feeling like she was destroying everything in her wake, and she feared that no matter how she tried to rectify the situation, things were doomed to end poorly.


	11. Dissonance

_**Possible TW: mentions of abusive home situations.** _ **All cast and characters of Hey Arnold! belong to creator Craig Bartlett.**

**Chapter 10: Dissonance**

_ Two years ago: _

_Turn around if you like me. Turn around if you like me,_ Sid repeated silently like a broken record. He only cared about English class for one reason, and the recent tutoring he had been forced to take once a week during lunch time only really validated that. It couldn't be helped though, he was too distracted. The auburn haired girl sitting diagonally from him could feel eyes boring holes into her and she turned her head to see his blue orbs quickly avert their gaze. Sid's chest fluttered, she was as close to perfect as a person could get.

Lila Sawyer had lived in Hillwood for close to four years now, and while practically everyone had been interested in her when she first arrived, that had faded now. Not to Sid however, he had become especially infatuated with the young girl, and at fourteen years old puberty only exacerbated that. She had soft brown eyes and she wore her hair in one long French braid, a step up from the pigtails of her youth. She was wearing a denim romper that day, since school had just started back up the warmth of late summer still clung to the air.

Sid loved her freckle-kissed skin, her perfectly coiffed hair and charming mannerisms. She was naturally pretty, she didn't need to cake five pounds of makeup on to her porcelain skin like Rhonda Lloyd, and was smart in a way that wasn't overbearing like Phoebe Heyerdahl. She came from near poverty and a broken home, just like he did. And he found it remarkable how well she managed to keep herself pulled together around their peers and emanated an undeniable air of positivity wherever she went. She really inspired him to try and be better, seeing her in his classes actually made him want to attend, though in truth he didn't always follow through on that.

He had been drinking and smoking a little bit of weed since seventh grade, but she never seemed to judge him for it. She was always amazingly compassionate and kind, even to someone like him who most girls simply scoffed at or looked down upon. He knew they understood each other on a level most people didn't, and coming from a less-than-ideal family situation, he saw the nasty custody battle her parents were currently involved in as all too relatable. He had nothing but empathy for her, and respect as she always had a beautiful smile painted on her face no matter how bad her life may be behind closed doors. No matter what insults her mother may throw at her.

The bell rang, declaring that school was finally over. This was one of his favorite parts of the day, not only because school was out, but because her locker was in close proximity to his. He loved walking behind her, getting whiffs of her perfume and hearing her infectious laughter echo in the halls. He had been trying to work up the courage to ask her out for a while now, but every time he totally choked. He was so unbelievably nervous just thinking about her, let alone talking to her.

Arnold and Lila had been casual friends for a long time, Sid was considering asking him for advice in trying to pursue a relationship with her. But his blonde friend was kind of a shit show at the moment, his parents had just been admitted to an in-patient psychiatric facility after all. Not to mention his weird obsession over Helga. He seemed like he was doing okay for a while there, like he had finally accepted what had happened. He managed to bring his grades up and cleaned himself up for a bit. Of course, things had gotten bad at home again, Sid knew that. Sid knew lots of stuff, maybe even more than Gerald knew.

Sid filled his backpack with the necessary supplies for his homework for the evening, and gave a gentle wave to Lila who beamed and waved back. With a newfound pep in his step, he made his way to Arnold's locker.

"You look chipper today," Arnold said. The blonde boy himself however looked haggard, to put it lightly. He was clad in a black sweatshirt and distressed jeans and had large bags under his bloodshot eyes.

"God you look like shit dude, rough night?" Sid asked.

Arnold sighed as he slammed his locker shut, "To say the least. Any plans for the afternoon?"

"Nah not really, you wanna kick it?"

"Yeah let's," Arnold replied. "I got some beer that needs drinking if you're down."

"Definitely!"

The two boys headed out of the middle school doors. They planned on going up in Mighty Pete, as suggested by Sid who enjoyed the sanctity of the old treehouse. It was perfect because if they got there quickly enough, they could pull the rope ladder up with them, leaving them undisturbed for the afternoon. Mighty Pete was relatively close to the middle school, the only trick was getting there before the younger students did.

They were happy to see that they indeed arrived first and quickly climbed into the trusty old tree fort and pulled the ladder up behind them. Sid couldn't get the thought of asking Lila out out of his head. He knew that there was a Sadie's Hawkins dance coming up, as was tradition for the first semester of middle school. He would have loved to have been able to make her his girl before she decided to try to ask anyone to the dance.

"Listen I got a question for you," Sid started and was rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. Arnold looked at him in acknowledgement as he cracked the tab on a beer.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Say there's this girl you like, but you don't know if she likes you back. And she might be totally out of your league, but you can't stop thinking about her ya know? What's the best way to ask someone like that out?"

Arnold raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "There's someone you like, I take it?"

"Uh well...sorta. I dunno, I think I like her," he muttered.

"Girls aren't exactly my strong suit. You'd probably get better advice from someone like Gerald," Arnold admitted, his voice was particularly monotone as he answered the question.

"Well Gerald and I aren't exactly close, that might be kinda weird. I just thought, ya know. You have a little bit more experience than I do. And definitely more experience than Harold and Stinky."

Arnold shot him a look but didn't say anything. He took a long drink from his beer can.

"Listen, I'm probably not the best one to ask. My _experience_ wasn't exactly great," Arnold said.

Sid was getting a bit frantic at this point, he couldn't get Lila out of his mind, he needed help and he needed it now if he was going to land a chance with her before the dance. She wasn't the type of girl to go date-less for a big dance like this for very long. His only saving grace was that it was a "girls ask guys" scenario, and she didn't seem to be expressing interest in anyone. In fact, Sid and Lila talked with one another quite frequently, and a small voice told him that maybe his chances were pretty good. But if he could get his feelings out in the open, that increased his chances of finally having a real romantic relationship with her. And the dance was a great place to start.

"Okay, well say you liked someone, what would you do?" Sid asked.

"Fuck if I know, I don't like anyone."

"Well...what did you do with Helga?" Sid asked and Arnold shot him a dirty look. "C'mon Arnold, I'm desperate here."

"Clearly," Arnold mumbled. "Who is this girl, anyway?"

Sid was petrified of Arnold knowing. He was friends with Lila after, what if he told her? That could ruin the whole thing, and he wanted to do this on his own as much as he could.

"Uh I-I can't say exactly," he responded.

"Whatever you say man. Okay look, just be honest with her and hope for the best. You don't need to make any grand gestures, but a lot of girls like flowers. Simple and not too over the top."

"Right, right flowers. Got it. But what do I do if, ya know...she rejects me?" Sid asked sullenly.

Arnold gave his friend an understanding smile, "You just gotta try and move on Sid. Nothing you can do if she doesn't like you back, trust me."

"What did you do when...well you know? When Helga kicked you to the curb?" Sid asked.

Arnold's eyes fell to the wooden floorboards of the tree house. Try as he might to give proper advice, everything he said felt so superficial and manufactured. Still, he hated to see his friend so torn up like this. Sid had been there through a lot of the aftermath of Arnold's shitty girl problems, the least he could do was try to return the favor.

"That's a hard question to answer. I never experienced something like that before, when she left it was like she took part of me with her. It gutted me. I haven't felt the same since," he answered honestly. Sid looked terrified at Arnold's candor, making him back track. "B-but I'm sure you've got nothing to worry about. Whoever this girl is is nothing like Helga. Any girl would be lucky to have you, buddy."

_Helga_. Saying her name now felt peculiar to Arnold. Like he was talking about a ghost or some crazy character from one of Gerald's urban legends.

"You really think so?" Sid asked.

"Of course," Arnold replied with a smile.

"Thanks Arnold, I appreciate it."

"Always happy to help, Sid."

* * *

He could recall the exact moment he became smitten with the young girl. Seventh grade was something of a roller coaster for Sid, things seemed to be looking up for once in the form of his mother's new boyfriend Mike. Things were great at first, Sid would come home to a new video game or pair of sneakers. His mom suddenly was awash with happiness, and the stress of working two jobs had subsided. The couple moved fairly quickly, with Mike moving in after only six months, right before school was set to be out. Unfortunately, the man harbored a more sinister side that manifested itself in the form of blue and purple bruises - with Sid often taking the brunt of his angry outbursts. As the heat of summer descended upon Hillwood, it was the only time in Sid's life he wished he could be sat in school. Every day was filled with the anxiety of waiting for Mike to return home after work, and what his return might have in store for him.

After taking a fairly rough beating one night, Sid decided to take refuge in the treehouse of Mighty Pete, but was surprised to find he wasn't the only one and quickly recognized the mahogany hair of one of his classmates slumped pathetically against the wall of the treehouse. Seeing tears rolling down the cheeks of Lila Sawyer was certainly strange. She was a girl that practically radiated sunshine and rainbows, and her crying seemed so wrong and unnatural. It was clear she wasn't expecting a visitor as she visibly jumped when Sid ascended the rope ladder of the treehouse. She silently stared at him for a moment, but quickly turned from him. It was clear as her small body shook that the tears were still flowing. It was awkward, and Sid considered leaving the girl in peace, but something about being in her presence calmed him.

He went back the next evening after dinner to find a familiar scene. This time Lila didn't even bother to acknowledge Sid but he didn't mind. Even with the dark cloud looming over her, she exuded a softness and tenderness that enveloped him like a warm blanket. He decided to go the next night, and the next night. Soon it became part of his routine, only occasionally skipping out to throw back a couple beers with Harold and Stinky. It comforted him knowing that there was something he could count on, something that was consistent. As the weeks passed, Lila's crying went from silent sobs and trembling to gentle drops that slowly trickled down her face. One day, she turned and offered Sid a half-hearted smile.

After a month or so passed, they finally found themselves conversing with one another, although it started out rather insignificant at first. The two of them barely said more than a few words, and neither dare ask the other what it was the other one was trying to get away from. It didn't take long after that for them to start speaking much more frankly about the turmoil in each of their respective lives. Sid knew that Lila didn't exactly lead a life of glamour, but was surprised to find out how much of a monster her mother actually was. He knew there was a lot that Lila was probably sugarcoating, and even then it sounded like all the woman did was spew venom and slap her daughter around. Between her mother's manic-depression, her drinking habit and gambling addiction - he admired how strong and kind Lila remained through everything. He couldn't help revelling in the small pleasure he felt knowing that not only was she a sort of constant in his life, but also was privy to her deepest secrets and emotions. They shared something that was truly unique and special and although they weren't tied to one another by a blood bond or anything of that nature, Sid equated their relationship as such.

Lila wasn't just a strong, dependable and kind young woman - she was also strikingly beautiful. There were many nights Sid caught himself thinking about how lovely her snow white skin looked bathed in the silvery moonlight that shone through the windows of the Mighty Pete treehouse. He would often stare at her, lost in thought as he memorized every freckle of her face and the exact shade of her deep brown eyes. Even when she was having a particularly rough day emotionally, he found her unkempt auburn hair and tear-streaked face alluring. And she didn't write him off as some weirdo like virtually every other girl of her caliber in their class. She bestowed upon him many warm hugs over that summer when he was at his lowest, crying silently into the crook of her neck. Lila never judged Sid like everyone else did. She always made him feel like maybe he was worth something, worth more than the shit cards life had a knack for dealing him.

It didn't take but a couple of months for Sid's mind to become entirely fixated on her. She was the first thing he thought about when he woke up and the last face he imagined before he fell asleep. The nights that he was out with the guys partying or skateboarding he was less than present mentally, and simply yearned to be near her sitting on the treehouse floor. One minute of silence with Lila was better than one hour of goofing around or graffitiing buildings around town with the boys.

It was confusing though, they never got together outside of Mighty Pete. And the times he did see her when their group of peers gathered during those muggy summer days she conversed with him only minimally. Of course, she was always pleasant and cordial and would make an effort in the form of very platonic small talk. She was Lila Sawyer after all, the queen of good manners and decorum. But it felt different. The metaphorical yarn that linked them together felt long and like it was on the verge of snapping. He wasn't completely dense though, he knew that she was miles out of his league. Still though, he held out the hope that maybe he could get her to fall for him. Even if he wasn't exactly great looking and was a little rough around the edges, she always managed to smooth him out. Perhaps he had something of a similar effect on her? It wasn't a totally unreasonable thought. To him, they were two pieces of the same puzzle, and he just needed to figure out how to fit them together.

* * *

It was the week before the Sadie's Hawkins dance and Sid was beyond nervous. He had one single long stemmed red rose and a pair of movie tickets he planned on presenting to Lila, since that's all his couch spelunking and mostly empty piggy bank could afford him. Lunch period had just begun, and Sid had been waiting patiently, even finding an excuse to get out of class early to pop the question. He rehearsed a million times in his head how he was going to ask her out, but standing here now all the previous recitations left his mind. He would have to suck it up, he wasn't going to let the moment pass him by.

He was getting antsy, she should be here by now. Lila always stopped off at her locker to collect her sack lunch. It was rare, if ever, that she purchased lunch from the cafeteria, due to her family's financial instability. But finally he heard her voice down the hallway, making his eyes light up. He had to be confident, that much he knew and he stood tall as he awaited her anticipated arrival. However she still hadn't approached the locker as he hoped, and his eyes scanned the hall looking for her.

To his surprise, she was standing at Arnold's locker with him. The two were joking around which wasn't exactly an uncommon sight, but Sid could really do without their banter right now. This is something that was important to him, the day he finally got to ask Lila Sawyer to go out with him. He watched as the two exchanged their goodbyes and his heart raced as she approached the spot where he now stood.

"Hi Lila!" He blurted out, making her jump a little.

"Oh hello Sid! How are you doing today?" She asked warmly. The timbre of her voice did something to him that he couldn't describe. Normally he could hold himself together, but today was different, and his wobbly knees and clammy hands were proof of that.

"I-I'm doing g-great," he stammered before clearing his throat. "Listen, Lila there was something I wanted to ask you."

"Of course. What is it?" She inquired.

This was his chance.

"W-well I was kinda hoping that maybe we could go see a movie together or something Friday night. I saw that they made a sequel to that bunny movie you like, I thought you might like to see it," he asked. "Ya know, I've always really thought you were...cool. I kinda thought it would be nice to hang out again. Been awhile since I've gone to the treehouse, I thought we could hang out alone, just you and I. You know, like a...date?" Sid felt his voice fluctuate about half an octave when that last word escaped his mouth. He could only pray silently that she didn't notice.

Lila's eyes went wide at the black haired boy. Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink, and Sid couldn't help noticing that she seemed uncomfortable as she averted her gaze to the ceiling and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. His gut was telling him that this wasn't about to end the way he had been hoping, but he ignored the gnawing feeling of sadness and embarrassment building up in his stomach. She hadn't rejected him yet, and he still had the near-perfect rose he bought at lunch from Vitello's Flower Shop to help sway her decision. _The rose!_ he remembered suddenly and moved it from behind his back to present to her. He was hoping for a positive reaction, a hug, a smile, _anything_. But Lila just stared at the rose uncomfortably then at him, and shuffled her feet on the ground, fiddling awkwardly with her hands.

"Oh. Well this certainly is a surprise. Listen, I'm ever so certain you're a sweet guy Sid, but I actually have plans Friday night. With a boy," she explained. He felt his face drop at the announcement. "And to be perfectly honest, I just don't think of you like that. You're an oh so... _nice_ guy and all, but I really just see you as a friend. And...well that's likely all I'll ever see you as. I'm awfully sorry. I hope this doesn't make things weird between you and Arnold."

Sid felt his heart shatter into pieces, _No way. She couldn't possibly be saying…_

"Arnold?" Was all his brain allowed him to ask.

"Oh yes. You see I asked him to the dance next week, and he seemed oh so happy about it. He invited me to go on the swan boat ride with him, it's just the most romantic thing ever, don't you think?" She asked dreamily. "I hope you're not too upset. I really do think of you as a good friend."

Sid was crushed. How could this have happened? And why Arnold of all people? He doesn't even like her, and here Sid was, ready to sweep her off her feet but wasn't even being given a chance? How the fuck Arnold always came out smelling like posies was beyond him. Kid got his parents back, is friends with half the school and manages to _always_ get the girl. Sid on the other hand came from a shit home, was labelled as something of a pariah, and girls wouldn't even look twice at him. It wasn't fair.

The kid was becoming so unhinged the last couple of weeks it's a miracle he hasn't been committed somewhere alongside his parents. Sid had no idea that when he introduced him to the party scene last year that his blonde friend would take to it as much as he did, but no matter what he did he always got a pass, even now he always got what Sid always wanted. Sure his parents were a bit off their rockers, but his grandparents always gave him the fucking world. New skateboards, new CDs, new video games, new clothes, anything he wanted he got. The worst part was Arnold would still act like his life was some fucking hopeless disaster, he would never appreciate any of it the way Sid would have.

Everyone thought Arnold was a good boy who was just "a little lost," but was still this great person. And here Sid was, someone who was labelled a weirdo and an outcast for doing a lot less than Arnold did. Why even try to be a good person? It wasn't getting him anywhere, and clearly you could do fuck-all and be considered a saint. Arnold was so insanely self-serving and superficial it was almost disgusting. Helga was always a straight shooter, maybe she was the first that saw through his veil of gallant, do-goody bullshit and that's why she told him to screw off. Surely Sid couldn't have been the only one who saw him for what he really was, right?

Lila looked at him pitifully, which only made Sid more angry, "Ya know what Lila? It's fine. I hope you two have fun." He wasn't being sincere in the least but Lila either didn't care or pretended she didn't notice.

"Oh Sid that's just ever so kind of you to say," she replied with her usual sticky sweet smile before a more awkward one replaced it. "And listen...maybe we should just forget this whole thing, it would be absolutely awful for you and Arnold to have any problems because of me. Anyway, I'm glad we could get this all straightened out but I should really head in for lunch, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Sure. Yeah, that's great. We'll just forget everything. See ya Lila."

Lila wasted no time in closing the door to her locker and making a hasty retreat from the area. The look on her face of something like pity with a faint contorted look of disgust not only angered but humiliated Sid. It was the only time he could ever have described her as ugly. Even nights where she sobbed uncontrollably with matted hair and disheveled clothes, her ethereal beauty was unwavering. But this look was something so different. It was like the antithesis of the person he thought she had arranged itself onto her face to mock him. Sid took the long stemmed red rose in his hands and twisted it over and over until it was shredded and the thorns dug deeply into his palms. Blood trickled out between the fingers of his closed fists and he proceeded to throw the rose in the trash emphatically. He felt his face turn a deep shade of scarlet as tears welled up in his eyes, making them burn.

_Fuck love. Fuck Lila. But most of all, fuck you Arnold._

* * *

It was clear to Arnold that something was going on with Sid. He was practically avoiding him at school and when he wasn't he was in a foul mood. He tried to talk to Stinky about it, knowing that they were closer, but Stinky didn't seem to have any insight to Sid's sudden shift either, and merely shrugged when Arnold inquired. He wondered if something maybe happened with the girl he had been talking about, but when he thought about asking about it he realized he probably wasn't exactly the most emotionally equipped person to handle his friend's heartbreak. He could barely handle his own, after all. He thought he would feel better potentially trying to get to know Lila beyond the platonic level, but his heart really wasn't in it.

Quite frankly, the girl was boring. She always had given him disapproving looks when she overheard his conversations about having a beer or two or smoking a joint with the guys. Though in all fairness, she never outright called him out for it or seemed too deeply distraught by it. But honestly why should she care, anyway? The two were decent enough friends but they didn't exactly hang out. In fact it was surprising to him when she asked him to accompany her to the Sadie's Hawkins dance. She was really more of Sheena, Eugene and Sid's friend. He only obliged in taking her on a swan boat ride because she was dropping very heavy hints after he accepted her offer of being her date to the dance.

It was strange how she suddenly was coming onto him so strongly. Maybe she was just lonely? How in the world she decided that he was the one she would invest any romantic interest in was puzzling. But he didn't have anything better to do that night, and he had heard some whispers from the other kids that her parent's divorce was becoming finalized. It had almost felt like he was obligated to at least give her a chance. She was nice enough, and he would be blind to not see that she was certainly an attractive girl. She wasn't necessarily his type, not anymore, though he knew his nine year old self would have jumped at the opportunity to escort her on a swan boat ride. Not to mention a junior high dance. It's just that nowadays he preferred someone with a bit more substance to them.

Arnold would have been lying if he said he was looking forward to Friday night with Lila. As expected, she was all honeyed smiles and started off with what was generally pleasant conversation. He hadn't slept well the night before and circling the pond in the shoddy little swan boat was making him a bit dizzy. Lila asked him about his hobbies, of which he practically had none of at the moment. Gerald convinced him to stay on the team for their last year of middle school, though he was surprised they hadn't booted him yet. He only made it a point to go to practice maybe once a week.

She asked about Gerald and Phoebe, and continuously made annoying observations about their relationship. Phoebe didn't make much of an effort to get to know Arnold beyond their current acquaintanceship, with which he gladly followed suit. The two had something of a falling out after Helga left and she made a point to lecture Gerald about how "off the rails" Arnold had gotten. Gerald tried to assure his blonde friend that his girlfriend was just concerned, but Arnold already had resented Phoebe for refusing to communicate with Helga on his behalf. Gerald quickly grew tired of being in the middle, so the two agreed to drop their feud and act civilly for the sake of his sanity.

At one point as Lila and Arnold circled the pond on the swan boat, she asked about his family, "Oh Arnold it must be ever so wonderful to have your parents back. How have they been adjusting to life in the city? They must be oh so happy to be back at home."

Arnold flinched at the question, they were just about the last thing he wanted to talk about. Didn't she hear that they had just been sent off to the funny farm? Perhaps not, she wasn't exactly someone who was prone to gossip.

He felt the regret settling in more and more as they paddled around the water; why did he agree to do this again exactly? "Yeah they're okay, I guess. They're having a bit of a hard time, it's just really different for them, I think. Being in the city."

"Oh no, what's been going on? I was ever so hopeful that you all would go back to being a normal family."

_God she's irritating_ , he thought. Her line of questioning was fair though, in fact practically every one he knew had asked similar questions at one point.

"They're just having some...culture shock issues, so they are in a care facility right now," he wasn't about to allow himself to divulge any more details of the nightmare he had been living at home. "But they're adjusting more and more everyday. Plus they're in good health, that's the biggest thing ya know?"

"I suppose that makes sense. It must be hard to go from one life into another so fast like that. I'm sure you miss them very much, but you seem like you're being wonderfully understanding," Lila offered him a small smile before continuing, "And how are _you_ doing Arnold?"

Arnold frowned at the question. How _was_ he doing? It was a question that he had been asked a thousand times over and over the past year, but he always had the feeling that those who asked didn't really want to know. Even Gerald seemed hesitant to pry into Arnold's emotional state of mind, and he couldn't really blame him. Annoying as it was, they were best friends after all. However Lila seemed genuinely curious, it was different.

"Oh uh, ya know - I'm hanging in there I guess. I mean, I'd be lying if I said things have been great..." He answered, his voice trailing off. Lila sat in silence, and he continued pondering the question: _How am I?_

The truth was of course that Arnold was doing rather terribly, but he wasn't going to admit that to Lila Sawyer of all people. The escalating fighting and paranoia from his parents intermingled with the immense emptiness he had been trying to fill with recreational drugs and alcohol made him nothing short of a walking disaster in the eyes of most of his young peers. Throw in his shitty attendance and slipping grades and it was fairly obvious they saw him as someone who had fallen from grace, so to speak. And he wasn't so dense that he didn't realize how everyone's perception of him had changed. Certainly, they had seen his fragile emotional state as predictable and even understandable after Helga moved, and everyone thought he was over it for a while. But it was clear he was falling back into very poor habits, and people weren't as sympathetic this time around.

Of course his parents were a completely different story altogether. He knew that they were bat shit crazy, and he wasn't exactly empathetic to their current state; he was supposed to be the kid after all. His parents weren't even really to blame for his current behavior and his vices, not fully. They just happened to be the catalyst that sparked some kind of terrible and overwhelming flame inside him. Something that craved to feel any shred of normal human emotion, but was fighting with the cognitive dissonance of not wanting to feel anything at all.

Some of the teachers may have been oblivious to the activities that suddenly inspired him to carry cologne and eye drops in his backpack, or where he disappeared to when he wasn't having lunch in the cafeteria with his best friend Gerald, but most of his classmates were not so blind. Gerald was clearly growing more and more frustrated, and had on more than one occasion threatened to go to some authority about Arnold's clandestine activities, but these were empty as his young friend was nothing if not extremely loyal. And Gerald wasn't completely complacent either, he would sometimes play hooky with his blonde friend to go to the skate park, and even went to most of the parties that Arnold, Stinky, Harold and Sid did. Even if he hardly ever smoked or drank at the functions. At this point Arnold was starting to wonder if Gerald only showed up to play the role of his babysitter.

Arnold was lost in the thoughts of his tumultuous life, and how exactly he got there when Lila's voice suddenly chimed, making him jump.

"I can't say that everything has been so great for me either, Arnold. But I'm sorry to hear that things aren't exactly...ideal. Are you getting along with them anyway?"

He was confused, "Getting along with them? You mean Gerald?"

Lila raised a perplexed eyebrow back at him, "No Arnold, your parents. We were just talking about them, remember?"

_Come on, pull it together!_ he thought to himself before replying. "Oh sure, sorry I guess I sort of lost my train of thought. Yeah, we get along okay I guess," he lied. "Some days are better than others, they just have a lot of shit to figure out. Like how to be parents."

He squeezed his eyes shut when the words came out and he immediately felt regret wash over him. But much to his relief, Lila didn't press him anymore about it. She snaked herself around his arm and for a moment he thought about pushing her away, but admittedly it was very comforting to be receiving some kind of positive attention. Along with everyone else in his life, even his grandparents had started treating him like something of a lost cause these days. But it was clear they didn't have the energy to fully deal with his fragile emotional state. Although in their old age he couldn't really fault them for it, plus they had enough to deal with from his parents. He was their sole focus for so long, he could understand them putting him on the back burner so-to-speak, but he couldn't help noticing that they certainly seemed to be disappointed and concerned.

Lila's arms tightened their hold around his and she laid her head on his shoulder. He felt his body tense up from her touch but still he let her stay. They had been friends, at least in varying degrees, over the years, and while she always seemed to have an on and off fascination with him, this was the closest they had ever gotten. It felt a bit strange and unnatural, but also comforting. Plus she smelled really nice, a bit like fresh linen and strawberries. He was sure that he probably smelled of something like stale cigarette smoke and cologne, but she didn't seem to mind. He felt a bit out of his element, it had been a long time since he had been shown this kind of affection, but he was still painfully aware of the fact that this could never compare to what he once had. It was bittersweet, he had been craving this kind of touch, but it's source was nothing but a cheap stand-in.

Arnold probably should have said something then and there, should have explained how he probably was a very bad thing for her, and how he knew he had little to offer her. How the bubbling tar that was his own heart could never give her even a shred of what she likely wanted from him. But he couldn't. He was keenly aware of how selfish he was being, but he didn't care. It felt nice to be wanted, to be touched, to be seen. He could worry about whatever mess may come about from this later. There was no harm in trying something, right? Who knows, maybe they _would_ fall in love and Helga would be nothing but a shitty memory. Maybe Lila could heal his heart and he could finally sever the probably unhealthy attachment he had felt ever since he stood at the foot of lost temples in the heart of the forest in San Lorenzo with his blonde companion.

Lila let out a small sigh, and Arnold realized how long the two had been sitting in silence. If he was going to try, he should probably shift the focus off of him for a bit.

"What about you, Lila?" he finally asked. "I've...heard some stuff around school lately. You been okay?"

Lila looked up and gave him a small, wry smile. It might have been a trick of the light, but he could have sworn he saw her eyes well up with tears for a moment.

"I'm doing just fine, Arnold."

* * *

Arnold was nervously adjusting his tie for the dance. Him and Gerald planned to walk to the school together and meet Phoebe and Lila when they got there. Sid still had been MIA lately, and when he did see him he was certainly less than pleasant. He was starting to wonder if he had done something wrong, but he was fairly positive that nothing negative had transpired. At first he was concerned about Sid being rejected by whatever mystery girl the kid had been going on and on about previously, but now he was concerned that maybe things at home had somehow gotten worse for his friend.

Sid had confided in him a few times, and he was more than empathetic to the situation. Granted, his parents only put their hands on him a few times, and it was usually after some snide comments he made after a night of drinking with his friends. Still, he could do without their sharp tongues and deranged thought processes. But Sid was essentially thrown around like a rag doll. Arnold had seen the bruises and lacerations, he knew Sid could steal a bottle of liquor from his house for him and his friends to enjoy and it wouldn't be noticed. He knew that their classmates looked down on him, and always had. The "poor kid" with a dead beat dad and a shitty mom who let her boyfriend use him as a punching bag just wasn't something that was interesting for them, in fact it made them isolate themselves from the guy.

Arnold sighed and shook his head, he had enough to worry about without all that being thrown on top. He had filled a small flask that he had taken from his father with some weird smelling, clear liquor that his grandparents had kept in a cabinet in the dining room. It was awful, and the aroma reminded him of pine needles and dirt. He hadn't been drinking for a very long time, and he would almost always pick beer if given the choice, but he was nervous and needed to calm his nerves. He only filled the flask about a third of the way, he just needed something to take the edge off. Plus he might need the extra lubrication, Lila was a sweet girl and all but she was basically a dull wind-up doll. He should have fun if he was going to be at some lame dance on a Friday night.

Gerald soon arrived and the boys walked towards the junior high school together. His friend went on and on about how excited he was to see Phoebe in a nice dress, and how he was looking forward to getting to make out at the end of the night. Arnold smiled and nodded along, he knew he probably should have been more excited for this, but his stomach was in knots. Gerald continued droning on and on and Arnold occasionally sipped from his flask. His friend was clearly excited _for_ him however, in fact he was talking so much, he almost didn't catch Arnold slyly drinking from the little silver bottle.

"I mean, it's gonna be great man! Think about it, Lila is one of the prettiest girls in school, and now we both have dates on a Friday night. Now whatever you do, don't fuck this-" Gerald suddenly stopped walking and glared at his friend as the silver flask left his lips. "Up... Dude, are you kidding me?"

Arnold flinched and quickly concealed the liquor. "W-what?"

Gerald clapped a hand to his forehead and groaned, " _Come on_ Arnold, what the hell? It's the Sadie's Hawkens dance, not a fucking house party."

_Well the latter sounds much more appealing,_ Arnold thought and rolled his eyes at his friend.

"Gerald it's fine. Lots of kids do it, half the football team is probably tanked right now."

Gerald sighed, "Alright, alright. But what's Lila gonna think? Isn't she pretty straight-laced?"

Arnold shrugged and took another sip. Gerald made a face and reeled back from his friend, "Damn what is that stuff anyway? I can smell it from here," He ripped the flask from his friend's hand and gave an apprehensive sniff. "Ugh, _gin?_ Isn't that what old people on diets drink?"

"Oh is that what it is? Give me a break, it was all my grandparents had."

"Whatever. Look, just keep yourself together. If you want this thing between you and Lila to go anywhere, you need to keep your head straight. I might think your drunken cry sessions are...endearing, but it'll creep her the fuck out I can promise you that."

Arnold shook his head but chuckled at his friend, "You want any?"

"Nah man, Phoebe's still on my case from the last time I drank with you."

"Seriously? That was like two weeks ago, and you only had two beers!"

"Yeah well, it is what it is. If I wanna lock lips with her tonight I gotta be on my best behavior," Gerald replied, and adjusted his tie while smiling suggestively at his friend.

"Suit yourself," Arnold replied. He finished the contents of the small flask and stashed it in the pocket of his slacks. They were almost to the school, and he felt warm from the gin. He tripped over himself and started giggling, to which Gerald raised an eyebrow.

"Shit I mighta had a bit too much," Arnold said, still giggling to himself.

"Listen Shortman, pull yourself together. We have a sea of teachers to go through before we get into the gym," Gerald hissed.

Arnold nodded, and did everything in his power to retain his composure. Thankfully, the two boys deposited their tickets and made it through the front lobby without any adult batting an eye at them. They quickly found Phoebe, with Lila following close behind her. Arnold had to admit, Lila looked lovely. The dance was semi-formal, and she donned a sequined seafoam green cocktail dress, it really suited her. It didn't take any time at all for Gerald and Phoebe to disappear into the dense crowd of their classmates dancing and hanging on each other. Arnold was a bit annoyed, he was hoping another couple being there could act as something of a buffer. Now he was all on his own.

"Uh, hey Lila. Thanks for inviting me, your dress looks really nice, by the way," he said awkwardly, trying to make his words sound as clear and normal as possible.

"You're ever so sweet, Arnold. Thank you oh so much for being my date tonight," Lila responded as pink flushed her cheeks. The two stood there not saying anything or looking at each other. He didn't think it would be this difficult, it was just a middle school dance after all. His nervousness was making him nauseous, he could only delay the inevitable for so long.

"You...you wanna dance?" he asked. Lila's eyes lit up and she nodded enthusiastically before grabbing him by the hand and pulling them into the middle of the crowd. The dimly lit gymnasium and heat of the bodies around him was making him nauseous. He could feel the effects of the alcohol deepening, only furthering to compromise his guise of sobriety. He kept tripping over himself, and Lila was giving him a bit of a strange and suspicious look. He pulled her into him to try to keep his cover from being blown, and he sighed with relief when she giggled coyly and wrapped her arms around him. He laughed along with her as they swayed to the music, she looked up at him curiously for a moment before quickly plastering on her sticky sweet smile and put her head back against his chest.

_Does she know?_ he wondered to himself. Not that he cared that deeply about it. Though he would prefer not to ruin her whole night if he could help himself.

The two continued dancing, and even laughed during Arnold's less than graceful moments. Maybe she didn't care about the drinking, or maybe she thought he was just insanely clumsy? Either way he was kind of relieved, he could do with one less lecture in his life. He was actually kind of having fun, much to his surprise. Certainly more than he expected. And more importantly, Lila looked like she was enjoying herself too, it was nice seeing her laugh and smile like that. It was weird though, when did he start considering her feelings like this? She really was a lovely person, and that dress did wonders for her blossoming figure.

If they could have just this one night like this together, he was fine with that. He was fairly confident that things probably wouldn't end well for them, but Arnold didn't care anymore. After all, he had already fallen from the pedestal he had been perched upon for so many years. All he knew was that, in this moment, he felt something that resembled happiness and regardless of all the possible ways that this could fall to pieces, he was going to stay in the now and enjoy himself.

* * *

Sid sat on the bleachers, it didn't take long for his eyes to find Lila amidst the crowd. She was breathtaking, her pale skin wrapped in faint green sequins, the hem of which showed a generous amount of her dainty legs. It took him about a full five minutes of observing for him to discover that Arnold was obviously intoxicated. He expected an angry spectacle to unfold between the two, and why shouldn't it? Lila was a good girl, she wouldn't tolerate his blatant drunkenness. It was so painfully obvious, and Lila wasn't a stupid person. Surely she would catch on.

His eyes narrowed as the scene of Arnold and Lila falling over each other and laughing unfolded on the dance floor. She deserved better than that, she deserved a person who would worship the ground she walked on. Who would go above and beyond to make sure her night was one that was special and unforgettable. Not someone who would tarnish the memory by getting trashed. Someone who clearly didn't even care to be there.

What was it that Lila saw in Arnold? He was just some miserable little prick who wallowed in his own fucking misery. He could never see Lila the way Sid did. He could never begin to understand what she was going through. There was so much that had happened that he wanted to tell her about, like how Mike finally walked out on him and his mother. Granted, the woman was a complete and utter disaster now, and she had no problem letting Sid know how it was all his fault but he didn't even care anymore. Her words didn't hurt him now as much as they might have in the past, the fucker was gone, Sid was finally free. Plus he was finally staying with his dad again, sure it was only every other weekend and he definitely wasn't going to be getting any "dad of the year" awards any time soon, but he was trying. Maybe he shouldn't have been trying to bond with his son by buying him beer, but Sid wasn't going to complain.

None of that mattered now though, as the one thing he had only ever truly wanted was flouncing around with some halfwit that could give two shits less about her. Arnold didn't even have the decency for one night to be in his right mind. Sid would have given it all up, the parties, the weed, the alcohol, the drugs; all of it to be with her. Why couldn't she see that? Why couldn't she have just given him a chance? It's not like he was a terrible looking guy, sure Arnold had more of a classically handsome sort of appearance, but Sid wasn't _ugly._ Was she attracted to how much of a disaster of a person he was? Was it some weird complex where she wanted to save the bad boy and tame him to be a good, loving boyfriend? If that was the case, she had no idea how in over her head she was.

Maybe, just maybe Lila _was_ a terribly naïve middle school girl. This was it, this was all Sid really needed to see. Arnold gets the girl, and Sid gets fucked in the ass by the world once again. He didn't need someone like her, someone so fucking blinded by someone as lame as Arnold Shortman. He felt tears stinging his eyes and chuckled to himself. Was this what irony was? Fucked up boy falls for a perfect girl and she couldn't care less about him, only for the girl to fall for another fucked up boy who couldn't care less about her?

He sighed and shook his head. Who was he kidding? It wasn't exactly Arnold's fault that this was going on, in fact - he was perfectly cognizant of the fact that his friend would end things in an instant if he did. Maybe that's all he needed to do, just talk to him before the two get too involved and ask him to put an end to things. In fact, that could end up working in his favor; Lila would be so distraught over her loss of Arnold that Sid would be the natural person she would run to. Now that he thought about it, maybe he _shouldn't_ say anything. Perhaps, things would better benefit him if they were to run the course of whatever joke of a relationship they could manage.

Sid smiled to himself, even as the anger welled inside him seeing the head of Lila rest against the chest of Arnold during a clumsy slow dance. He could still win this, he could still get exactly what he wanted. He just needed Arnold to keep being Arnold, with some encouragement from Sid of course. The kid was a fiend for anything that kept him from feeling real emotions and having to face reality, and Sid was more than willing to help satiate the hunger that his friend had for mood altering substances. He was, if nothing else, a good friend after all.

* * *

It had only been a few months that Arnold and Lila had been dating, and their relationship could only be described as rocky at best. At first, Arnold appeared to be trying to make at least something of an effort, not drinking or smoking as much as he normally did and trying to be more present for his classes, but that lasted for all of about a month before they fell to complete and utter shambles.

Most of their peers tried their best to keep a blind eye turned to their tumultuous nature, though it was clear that being Arnold's companion was sucking the life out of Miss Sawyer. Arnold was somewhat conscious of what he was doing to Lila, but he didn't have enough energy or compassion to really care. Taking care of himself was hard enough, let alone trying to take care of another person. He didn't want things to be this way, and he did feel bad knowing that her parents divorce was imminent. But the fact of the matter was that Arnold depended on Lila's sympathy and attention. He felt bad that he couldn't give her even a quarter of what she gave him, but it really couldn't be helped. He wasn't equipped to deal with the emotions of another person. Not hers, anyway.

It wasn't like he was forcing her to stay with him, but their relationship had already been built on her clearly caring much more for him than he did for her. That pace never really changed, if anything the imbalance between them only worsened over time. Arnold didn't realize how having a rebound girlfriend could bring out so much of the toxicity within him. Lila really fought for the two of them to work out, and he was simply an energy vampire feeding off of her compassion and fondness for him. He loved feeling loved, he loved that she would stand up for him to other people, and tried to remind him that good still resided within him. He loved how she fought for him, but he didn't love her.

Lila could be insanely overbearing. She didn't trust Arnold much, and after a while she had no problem letting him know that. It wasn't like he was cheating on her or anything like that, but he made absolutely terrible decisions that kept snowballing into even worse ones. In her mind, it was only a matter of time since he was out of his mind and blacking out all the time, and she was suspicious that he still had feelings for Helga. He liked to pass the time on the weekends by going to bonfires or house parties, but Lila just wasn't the type of person for those functions. She tried to oblige him by attending them on occasion, but she always had a miserable time. He would drink until incoherent, often leading him to suffer panic attacks. He would hang on her and cry about how his parents hated him, and how awful of a person he was. It was getting to be a bit much.

Lila had always believed that Arnold was still a great person, even if he didn't seem like it on the surface. Even if he might be worse now that he ever had been in the past. His friends were clearly aware of how reckless and emotionally damaged he had become, but they did very little to control him. Save for maybe Gerald, who was almost as exhausted by the blonde boy as Lila was. Sid seemed to think it was something of a joke, and encouraged his behavior. Lila figured that maybe he didn't realize exactly how detrimental he was being. Maybe he just needed someone to drink and party with. She was thankful that Sid could at least soften himself and comfort her when she needed it. He'd often be there to reassure her when the two teens had a fight and Arnold drunkenly stormed out of whatever house party they were at that night. _He's an asshole, don't worry about it Lila. That's just how he gets, it's got nothin' to do with you._ She was thankful that someone could see her side of things, anyway.

Lila was a bit confused as to how things went so awry. When she approached him about the dance all those months back she knew he was struggling again, but she thought he had recovered at least a little bit from the year previous. It was frustrating to her, why did she have to be with him when he was in this state of dysfunction? He was worse now than he ever was. She couldn't help blaming Helga, that girl was always a cold-hearted bitch, not to mention a bully. Sure, his parents were fucking up in their own right, but this all started with her. Someone like Arnold was too kind and compassionate for someone as crass and insensitive as Helga Pataki.

Arnold struggled to admit exactly how bad his parents had gotten to anyone. The façade of a perfectly happy family was shattered fairly quickly, as they were encouraged to pursue normal lives in Hillwood, the exact opposite happened. His mother seemed to be suffering from some kind of agoraphobia, she refused to leave the house, often refusing to even leave her room. She was terrified and suspicious of everything, she got to where she rarely showered and Arnold had to bring meals to her. But even he wasn't free from her increasing paranoia and it sounded like over time she had little interest in much of anything, even seeing her son.

Miles, his father, was a different beast altogether. His distrust of the modern world was far more dangerous. He listened to obscure radio networks that fueled him to brand the world as one that was built upon conspiracy theories and the impending doom of the "new world order." Miles wanted to pull Arnold from school, believing that the public education system would brainwash him. Phil and Gertie weren't having any of that, and since Miles didn't have guardianship over Arnold, screaming matches often ensued. His distrust finally crept it's way towards his own son. He called him a "child of the regime" and would practically lose his mind if Arnold used his phone around him or played video games. He warned Arnold about becoming "complacent" and how the communists trying to control the government would do to his son worse than what happened to him and his wife at the hands of the well-connected, corrupt pirates of San Lorenzo.

The downfall of his parents first happened during Arnold's seventh grade year. He was already a disaster, experimenting with illicit substances and cutting class since the sudden departure of his ex-girlfriend. His grandparents threatened to take drastic measures if Arnold and his parents couldn't pull themselves together. And he was actually hopeful when his parents seemed to demonstrate some improvement as the end of the school year approached, and he seemed to improve along with them, he managed to improve his grades and end the year on a decent path, but it didn't take long for that to fade.

He had such high hopes for the summer, but when his parents' mental states started deteriorating once again, he himself still wasn't stable enough to deal with everything. He was barely fourteen years old after all. In the weeks before his eighth grade year was set to start, he crumbled. Something terrible had transpired between him and his parents, and all of the progress any of them had made was shattered.

Sid was awoken one night by a phone call from a hysterical Arnold. Apparently his father had called him into his room in the boarding house, and was going on and on about his mission to take Arnold, his mother and himself "out of this god-forsaken world," and how they were the chosen ones to lead the green-eyed people and ascend to a better life and that Arnold's father would be the one to "save them." This was, of course, very unsettling for Arnold and even his mother, and he promptly left and hid in his room for awhile. Later though, he decided he would quietly check on them, when he heard what sounded like a woman crying in his parent's room. He was understandably concerned and entered the room in haste, startling his mother who was having a total meltdown. There was a knife on the table, and in her terrible frame of mind just ran at him with it.

Arnold was fortunate to act quickly enough so as not to be skewered by his distraught mother. She had fallen to the floor and sobbed when she realized what she had almost done, begging for Arnold to forgive her. She would say that she didn't mean it, she loved him. She was just scared, she thought he was Miles. Things only got worse when his father entered the door to the apartment behind him. Arnold flipped, he beat his father so badly the man had to be taken to hospital. Luckily his grandfather overheard the commotion, and pulled Arnold off of him before too much damage could be done.

Everything that had happened in the months prior led to this moment, Arnold finally had enough. Sid was instructed to never breathe a word of this to anyone, and he obliged. He was a bit stunned when hearing the story between the sobs of his friend, he couldn't imagine Arnold hurting a fly, let alone his own father. Miles and Stella were admitted somewhere shortly after that. The two boys had a certain kinship between them now, Sid suspected that not even Gerald knew the full story; that Arnold bloodied his own father so badly the man had to sit in a hospital bed for three days.

Sid thought the whole thing was a bit dramatic, it's not like Arnold got hurt or anything, but he was still sympathetic. The two partied for a bit together the first time his blonde friend lost his shit last year, but they hadn't been talking nearly as much the last few months. He was flattered that Arnold would confide in him of all people. Sid wasn't used to being someone that anyone relied on, it was nice to be recognized as more than just the weird kid in a black leather jacket.

But all that had transpired a while ago now. They were already moving into the third semester of school, and Sid couldn't help thinking how absolutely pathetic the kid looked now. Sure, he had some shit he was dealing with. But didn't they all? Why did he think he deserved any special treatment? Kid has a bad year or two, whereas Sid and Lila hadn't ever seen a _good_ year, but he's the only one losing his mind. It was finally working to Sid's advantage though, Lila was starting to hate this version of Arnold. As much as it killed him to see how completely broken she was, he relished that she trusted Sid enough to turn to him, to find solace in him. Nights where Arnold was belligerent and crying or fighting kids at parties, Lila was completely beside herself, and Sid made sure he would be around to pick up the pieces. He would always be there when she needed him, and he knew that one day she would finally land in his arms. He just had to be patient.

And after one particularly eventful night, it seemed like everything was finally falling into place for Sid. Sid and Arnold had arrived at a party at their friend Lorenzo's house accompanied by Harold and Stinky. Lorenzo always made sure he kept the alcohol flowing, and it didn't take long for Arnold to get absolutely plastered. His friends cringed over-hearing him begging for Lila to come, telling her how much fun the party was going to be. To everyone's surprise, she did show up, but clearly annoyed and they fought shortly after her arrival. Sid had snuck a couple of Xanax from his mother, and offered one to Arnold, which he didn't hesitate for a second in taking. Soon he was uncontrollable in his blacked out state. At first it was funny to everyone, as they pushed him around and challenged him to keep shot-gunning beer. But he quickly became a nuisance and was on the verge of being kicked out of the party before suddenly leaving of his own accord.

Arnold wandered aimlessly around the neighborhood, and somehow ended up in a wooded park. His mind was tormenting him and his heart hurt. He remembered someone saying something about his girlfriend, and soon only one person was occupying his brain. He missed Helga so fucking much. Why was he still like this, after all this time? He tried so hard to do well without her, he tried to be the person he used to be. Tried to move on, tried to get a nice girlfriend. But as soon as he started getting better, everything went to shit. Every single time. He couldn't be himself without her. Maybe if she had stayed, things would have been okay, maybe he wouldn't have lost his shit on his dad so bad, maybe they wouldn't have gotten carted off to some hospital. But she didn't, she didn't stay, she didn't love him anymore. His thoughts were muddled and distressed and it wasn't long before he took his phone out of his pocket and called the one person he knew that would answer.

"Liiiilaa," he slurred.

"Arnold where did you go? Why did you leave me here alone?" Lila was bordering on hysterical as she talked to him.

"I'm fucking _fine_. I jush needed to go on a walk, get off my back," he replied angrily.

"Arnold I'm trying to help you, please. You know I love y-" she started but was interrupted.

"I wanna find Helga. Wheeere? Where's Helga?"

"Arnold, she's fucking gone. You're supposed to be my boyfriend, what is wrong with you?" she said, her voice was breaking as the words came out.

"I just, I really missh her. I really fucking miss her. I miss her so fucking mush. I-I want Helga," his voice was raising and Lila felt her heart sink as the words came out.

"Why? How could you possibly miss her? I've done everything for you, how can you do this to me right now?" she asked in a near whisper.

His sobs came through the other end of the phone in response, and his voice continued to increase in volume as he kept rambling on incoherently. He began screaming and all she could make out was Helga's name on occasion, and every utterance of it was like a punch to the gut.

"Arnold, where are you? Just tell me where you are," she begged. Most of the party had started listening in on the conversation. Sid and Stinky were observing the state of Lila, when Sid suddenly rammed his elbow into his friend's ribs.

"Man what a disaster, huh?" he asked in a low voice. "She's a total mess! Looks like the honeymoon's over, right Stink?"

Stinky shot him a dirty look before grabbing his coat and putting on his boots.

"Stinky what the hell, you leaving?" Sid asked but his friend just shook his head and exited out the front door.

_God what's gotten into him?_ Sid wondered to himself. His eyes quickly fell back to a crying Lila, who held cradled her phone into her hands.

Seeing her like that was bittersweet, it was hard seeing her so upset and being treated so terribly, but he also knew this was his chance. He would be the one to comfort her, the one to make it better. Then she would finally realize who had always been there for her. It would finally dawn on her: she should have picked him at the beginning. He sat next to her as she continued crying. The rest of their peers had grown uninterested and moved to another part of Lorenzo's large residence to escape the tension and keep the party going.

"Hey Liles, you okay?" Sid asked softly, putting an arm around her shoulders.

"Oh Sid, he's awful. Absolutely awful," she said as she fell slumped into his chest. His heart skipped a beat. "He still talks about _her._ I don't even matter to him, it's oh so obvious that he doesn't care about me. Not even a little bit."

"I can't believe that Lila. You're great, honestly. You're a fuckin' catch, I don't get how he could even think about the likes of Pataki when he has you. I mean, shit, I know I'd give just about anything to have someone like you," he said. Lila looked up and gave a very half-hearted smile.

"Really Sid? You really mean that?"

"Of course I do! I mean, c'mon, you're like the prettiest girl in school. You don't deserve any of that shit. He should be here begging for your forgiveness, but he's who knows where crying about _her?_ Forget him," he said.

Lila wiped her tears and nodded, "You know what? You're right Sid. It's just...it's been hard. I really tried to help. I tried ever so much to get him back to a good place. But h-he basically used me. Used me to make himself feel better, but where is he? Now that I'm the one who's upset?" she shook her head angrily and sighed. "I dunno, maybe I should go look for him. He was pretty...messed up when he left."

Sid felt a tinge of annoyance hit him, but he tried his best to remain composed. "Are you sure Lila? I mean, I dunno what exactly he said to you, but you seem pretty upset. Wouldn't it be better to talk to him in the morning? Once he's sobered up a bit? Plus you've had a couple drinks too, haven't you? I just don't know if going and confronting him right now is such a good idea."

Lila sniffed, looked at her phone for a moment before turning it off. "You're probably right. I just can't believe he would talk to me like that. I-I've done so much for him," she said quietly, leaning into Sid as he comfortingly wrapped his arms around her. "It's bad enough he left me here all alone, but then he calls me to cry about _her?_ "

"I know babe, I know. Arnold's just not in his right mind. But I know about all the stuff you've done for him, I see how great of a person you are," he said and ran his fingers tenderly through her loose auburn waves.

"Y-you're a really good person too, Sid. You've always been there for me and I can't tell you how oh so appreciative I am for that," Lila said, and squeezed her eyes shut. "I…I wish I could take back what I did to you at the beginning of the year. With the dance and all. I'm really sorry."

Sid smiled to himself, _Bingo._

"Honestly Liles, you got nothin' to be sorry for," he said, delicately placing his forefinger under her chin and lifting it. He used the other hand to gently wipe the tears from her freckled face, and one of her own hands moved to cradle his.

They locked eyes for what seemed like an eternity before he leaned in. And when her lips met with his, his heart and his brain felt like they could explode. It was like someone set off a thousand artillery shells at once from within him. Sid waited so long for this moment, and it was finally, _finally_ here. And Lila tasted exactly as he thought she would, like fucking gum drops and happiness and rainbows or some shit. He breathed in her sweet scent as their mouths opened for one another and their tongues collided. He pulled her onto his lap, and she didn't protest much to his relief and excitement. His arms wrapped around her tightly, he never wanted to let her go. She was his. She was finally fucking his. After all these months, after he had to see her time and time again run to damn Arnold Shortman, he had her.

Their hands hungrily ran over each other, and he wasn't going to let the opportunity pass him up. Sid felt something wet on his cheek, and realized tears were falling down her face. No matter, soon she wouldn't even remember Arnold's name. He would make sure of that. He pulled back and kissed her tear-soaked cheeks and ever so gently ran his fingers up and down the small of her back. She shivered and he took that as the signal he had been waiting for. Sid pressed his lips back into hers and let his hands cup her beneath her shirt, making her gasp into his mouth.

The two teens locked eyes once more before they retreated to one of the guest rooms upstairs, stripped the clothes from one another, and allowed their bodies to meld together into one.

* * *

Arnold awoke in his room, fully clothed with his shoes still on. He looked around in a groggy stupor, rubbing his swollen eyes trying to remember what the fuck happened last night, and how he got home. He felt around his pants and sighed in relief upon finding his cell phone still on his person. The battery was almost drained, and as he plugged it in he saw the slew of missed calls and text messages on his home screen. Seven missed calls from Lila, four from Stinky, and about twenty from Gerald _._

He was confused, Gerald wasn't even in town, why would he be calling him so late, and so...frequently? Just what the hell happened last night? If his hangover and scraped up knees were anything to go by, clearly he had a rough night.

He opened his phone to find numerous text messages from just about everyone he knew.

Stinky - 11:40 p.m.: "Heard u and Lila fighting i'm coming to get u."

Gerald - 12:12 a.m.: "Dude wtf Stinky just called me in a panic where ru?"

Rhonda - 12:21 a.m.: "Lila just told me everything what the fuck is wrong with you"

Sid - 2:22 a.m.: "yo, lila is stayin at lorenzos. if u wanna skate later just hit me up"

As Arnold went through the messages in order, he got another one in real time. He sighed when Lila's name popped up. _Ah fuck._

Lila - 10:46 a.m.: "Call me. We need to talk."

Arnold stared at his phone for a moment, he _really_ didn't wanna deal with this today. He felt like shit, his eyes hurt, his body hurt. He felt completely drained and exhausted and he reeked of alcohol. _Damnit,_ he thought, _What the hell did I do last night?_

He swung his legs over the bed and kicked his shoes off, changed his clothes and threw a hat on. He didn't have the energy to shower, he just wanted to get whatever conversation was about to go down over with. He marched himself sluggishly down the stairs to the bathroom to brush his teeth. After finishing up and spraying his toothbrush clean, Arnold looked at himself in the mirror. He looked like he aged about three years overnight, with eyes that were painfully bloodshot and swollen. He sighed to himself and took his phone out, found Lila's name in his contacts and called her. The line trilled briefly before she picked up.

"Meet at the park. Half an hour. Please don't be late," Lila said to him on the other line. She had hung up on him before he even had a chance to respond.

Arnold left a short while later, after sending texts to Gerald assuring him that he was fine and had (somehow) made it home in one piece, and to Stinky to try and get an idea of what exactly transpired the night before. It was chilly out, winter had taken the city into it's cold, icy clutches and all of Hillwood was blanketed under a delicate layer of snow. Arnold didn't mind winter, but he could have done without having some awkward meet up in the freezing cold. Couldn't they go to a coffee shop or something, at least? Knowing Lila, she had to make this as annoying as possible, of course she wanted to meet at the stupid park.

The blonde boy was coming to the bridge over the pond of the park and saw Lila standing there in a lavender coat. Her hair was braided into two French plaits and on her head she donned white, furry earmuffs. As he continued his approach, she eyed him briefly before turning to look out over the edge of the bridge. She was clearly pissed off, he braced himself for whatever tongue lashing he was about to get. Once he was but a couple feet from her, he stood beside her on the bridge, overlooking the ice covered water below. They stood in silence for a bit, with Arnold finally being the one to break it.

"You uh, you wanted to talk?" he asked. She whipped her head at him and her brown eyes were like daggers. He could tell by looking at her that she had been crying.

"Is that all you have to say to me, Arnold?" Lila asked. "Do you even remember any of what happened last night?"

Truth be told, he didn't. He remembered getting hammered at Lorenzo's, he remembered something upset him at the party, so he left. He remembered walking and it was cold, after that his mind was totally blank.

"Well, not a whole lot if I'm being honest. I take it I hurt your feelings or something?" he asked nervously. Lila shook her head angrily, he didn't even understand the gravity of what he did. And this, this reaction of his was just the icing on the cake. She couldn't believe the audacity of him.

"As if that's oh so surprising, huh? Arnold, you are the most selfish, misguided _asshole_ I've ever met," she started. He chuckled softly, and her face went scarlet with anger. "Are you...seriously laughing right now?"

"Lila, I'm sorry. I'm not laughing at you, honestly. I'm sorry, really. Please, finish what you have to say," Arnold responded. But Lila was beyond finished, she couldn't believe he could act so casually. He didn't care about the consequences of his actions, he didn't care who he dragged down with him into his pit of despair. She was absolutely gutted and heartbroken, and he just stood there laughing, who does that?

"After you dragged me to a party that I didn't want to go to, drank way too much along with God-only-knows-what else, you left me by myself and yelled at me about your toxic ex-girlfriend after calling me crying. Does any of that ring a bell?" she asked him, seething.

"I mean, a little bit, but not totally. Definitely sounds like me, though," he muttered.

"This is just...this obviously isn't working Arnold. I'm done," Lila said coldly.

"Okay. Then it's done. I'm sorry things were...like this Lila. I really am. You didn't deserve any of it," he said softly. Lila's eyebrows stayed knitted together. She was equal parts disgusted, hurt, ashamed and exhausted.

"Just...just don't be angry with Sid, okay? It's not like we're dating or anything," she said. Arnold quirked an eyebrow at her.

"What does Sid have to do with anything?"

Lila's face flushed red and she looked to the ground, "Not that it's any of your business, but we...well we stayed the night at Lorenzo's. Together."

Arnold's eyes widened, "You and Sid? Wait, did you guys sleep together or something?"

The deepening red of Lila's face made the answer painfully obvious, "Like I said Arnold, it's not any of your business," tears were welling up in her eyes as she paused to take a breath, "Now please, just leave me alone. I don't want to see you."

Arnold said nothing as he turned and retreated back to the warmth of the boarding house. _Sid and Lila?_ he pondered to himself. It was so...bizarre. He remembered the text he read earlier that day, telling Arnold to let him know when he wanted to skate next. Was he going to tell him that he fucked his girlfriend? Was that what that was? Lila he couldn't really blame, Arnold knew that ship had been sinking for a while now, but Sid was supposed to be one of his best friends. How could he do that? As he climbed the front steps of the Sunset Arms boarding house, he grabbed his phone out and called Stinky.

"Hey man," he said when the southern drawl of his friend came through the other line, "Thanks for saving my ass last night," he remarked with a chuckle as he crossed the threshold and closed the front door behind him.


	12. You Call This a Date?

**All cast and characters of Hey Arnold! belong to creator Craig Bartlett.**

**Chapter 11: You call this a date?**

The leaves of Hillwood had finally made their grand turn, and the city was a vast sea of scarlet, vermilion and umber. The smell of stale exhaust clung to the crisp air along with the fragrance of warm spices and hot chocolate. Helga Pataki loved autumn, and after living in a state that had virtually one season there was a certain nostalgia and fondness that had been overtaking her as the colors changed. She had always enjoyed wearing big comfy sweaters, scarves and stretchy leggings, although presently she didn't have a great fall wardrobe, having lived in California for the last five years. Thankfully she had a friend as wonderful and stylish as Rhonda Lloyd to whisk her around to busy and mind blowingly dull department stores all day.

Helga was walking towards the downtown area, GPS open on her phone since she still was struggling navigating the city by herself. She was to meet Phoebe and Rhonda in a few minutes in front of the strip mall but had stopped off for a caramel latte along the way, she hated to admit she loved froo-froo drinks like this and normally did what she could to avoid the sugary, empty calories, especially so late in the day. But what the hell? She was in a good mood today, why not try on five thousand cable knit sweaters and drink bougie coffee? Heck, maybe she'd even convince Princess Lloyd to jump into some leaf piles in her billion dollar parka and get Phoebe to skip a night of homework so they could throw caramel apples at Harold Berman. She chuckled to herself, it was rare she felt this jovial and carefree. It was a nice change of pace.

The department stores were just ahead, and lo and behold there were her two raven-haired friends, anxiously awaiting Helga's arrival. Phoebe and Rhonda waved her over, as she finished the remnants of her hot sugary drink and dumped the cup into a nearby trash can. She offered her friends a small wave and joined them in front of the large doors of a nice-looking boutique.

"Afternoon Helga," Rhonda started. "Nice uh, jeans."

Helga rolled her eyes, "I've lived in the fucking hellfire that is the state of California for the last five years, Princess. Cut me a break."

Phoebe chuckled, and a small smile formed on Rhonda's face, "Fine, fine. You're right. They really are cute jeans, though."

"Thanks for the revelation Rhonda. 'Sup Pheebs, nice day huh?"

"Afternoon Helga! Yes, it's an exceptionally pleasant day. The senescence of the native foliage certainly is breathtaking this time of year," Phoebe quipped happily in response.

"English, Pheebs," Helga responded and Phoebe sighed.

"The leaves are pretty," her friend responded in monotony. The three girls chuckled as Rhonda ushered them inside.

"Alright ladies, enough chit-chat. We are on a mission to find Helga a suitable wardrobe. Everybody knows that fall fashion is _the_ fashion. It's iconic. Honestly, you're lucky that I'm here to make sure you don't end up buying something hideous," Rhonda said, and eyeballed an oversized sweater Helga was admiring on the rack. "Ugh, like that."

Helga rolled her eyes and placed the hanger back on the bar of the clothes rack. If it wasn't for Phoebe somehow convincing Helga this was a good idea, she probably wouldn't have been as keen on coming. For this reason exactly. Rhonda was always a nightmare to shop with, when she wasn't dressing her friends up in overpriced garments made of silk or cashmere, she was dragging them from store to store as she carefully investigated practically every thread of every article of clothing. Not that Helga minded shopping, but she could think of infinitely better ways for her to spend her Saturday that didn't include being dressed up as a doll for four hours. Thank god for Phoebe, at least she would help Rhonda ease up off of her. It's amazing how the friendship between the three girls had remained so much the same after five years. As annoying as Rhonda Lloyd was, Helga had yearned for days like these after she had moved away. Of course, she wasn't going to tell Rhonda that, the last thing she needed to do was encourage her.

"Ah Helga, this is adorable, let's add it to the pile of stuff for you to try on," Rhonda said as she admired the lilac colored sweater.

"Did you say _pile?_ I haven't even pulled anything off the racks yet!" Helga complained.

"Oh that's not a problem, I have enough fashion sense for the both of us after all," Rhonda responded with a smirk. Helga was annoyed but she decided to let it go right now, the more she went with the flow the faster they could all get out of there. And at least Rhonda had decent taste.

The one thing that Helga was always adamant about picking out herself was shoes. So while Rhonda ripped clothes from hangers and threw them into the arms of Phoebe for Helga to try on, Helga admired the shelving in the corner of the store with rows and rows of boots for the changing season. One pair immediately caught her eyes, they were very similar to the combat boot style she always gravitated towards. They were a matte black, covered in different buckles but laced up to the mid-calf. They even had something of a chunky heel to them, almost like a wedge. She had to have them, and was soon trying them on in her size. These boots were kind of...sexy, but still looked like she could knock a few heads in wearing them. They were perfect. Rhonda sauntered over and observed the boots on Helga's slim legs.

"Hm, very hot. Very _you._ You should definitely buy them," Rhonda said and gave Helga an encouraging smile. "Now grab them and hurry up! You have some clothes to try on."

Helga took the boots off and slung them over her shoulder, following her slender friend towards the curtain of the changing booth. Rhonda wasn't wrong, there certainly was a pile, though Helga would have described it as more of a mountain.

"Christ Lloyd, I only have today ya know," she said sarcastically before grabbing a few clothing items and taking them into the changing booth behind her.

She first tried on the lilac sweater she first saw Rhonda grab. It was actually pretty cute, it had a high neckline, but the fabric was open to expose both shoulders on either side. The sleeves were loosely fitted, and the body of the sweater hugged her torso in all the right spots. She paired them with a pair of black leather jeggings, with which she decided to add her new beloved boots as the final touch.

 _Damn, not bad Princess_ , she thought, admiring herself in the mirror.

"Helga, come out so we can actually see it!" Rhonda commanded.

Helga obliged and whipped the curtain of the changed booth open, and her two friends both gave nods of approval.

"Oh Helga! That outfit suits you completely!" Phoebe remarked.

Rhonda smiled, clearly feeling proud of a job well done, "I must say I've outdone myself. Your ass looks _insane_ in those."

"Alright, alright enough schmoozing. What's next?" Helga asked.

The next hour proceeded in this same manner, and Helga was pleasantly surprised at how much she loved everything her friend picked out. Sure, some stuff wasn't necessarily her style, but Rhonda did a damn good job of finding things that at least looked good. Helga was getting tired of parading around like some mindless wind-up doll though, her feet were killing her and she was starting to get hungry.

"Okay let's wrap it up ladies I don't wanna spend the night here," Helga said.

Rhonda quickly objected, "Not so fast, there's still one last thing here I want to see you in."

Helga groaned, "Come _on_ Rhonda, I just wanna get some grub. We can always come back you know, the store isn't going anywhere."

But her dark head friend simply shook her head, "We're already here. It's just one more thing Helga, after this I promise we'll leave."

"Oh for fucks sake, _fine._ But this is it, I'm freaking starving over here. Plus I'm sure Phoebe is bored outta her mind," Helga motioned to her tiny friend, who was spaced out typing away on her phone. Phoebe finally registered what was said and quickly put her phone away.

"Oh uh, no it's quite alright Helga. I'm not bored," Phoebe said.

"Sure, sure. Tell Geraldo I say 'hello,'" Helga retorted. She ripped the piece of clothing from Rhonda's hands and stomped back into the changing booth.

Helga unfurled the wad of cloth, it was a dress. Of course, she wanted to immediately hate it, for no other reason than to be spiteful. Annoyingly however, it was totally adorable. It was sort of blush pink in color, but was something of a nude shade as well. There was a piece of fabric that hugged around her neck, similar to a turtleneck, but was exposed from just above her collar bone and plunged down into a deep v, tastefully exposing the cleavage of her ample breasts. The hemline stopped about two inches above her knees, and the dress itself was quite fitted around her abdomen. The sleeves were long which she liked, it added an element of modesty without making her look prudish. Helga overheard the bell of the shop ding, and heard men's voices speaking from a distance.

 _Poor bastards. Probably got dragged here just like I did,_ she thought and chuckled to herself as she admired the fit of the dress in the mirror.

"Pataki, are you decent yet? We want to see it!" Rhonda called from outside the curtain of the changing booth. "And make sure to wear the boots with. If ever there was an outfit for you to stomp around in this is it."

"Keep your shirt on Rhonda, or I'll stomp on your head," Helga muttered and stepped out of the room. Both girls gasped excitedly as she exited, clearly they approved.

"Holy. Shit," Rhonda said in awe of her friend. "Okay, your little boyfriend is gonna lose his mind when he sees you in this."

Helga chuckled, looking down as she used her hands to smooth out the front of her dress, "Excuse me, _not_ my boyfriend. I'd prefer to date someone with a fucking brain, Lloyd."

"That's no way to talk about your boyfriend, Helga," an all-too-familiar voice remarked. Her eyes were like saucers and they immediately landed on the blonde boy clad in a plaid shirt with a black jacket layered over top, a beanie and dark wash jeans in front of her.

* * *

The look of amusement that overtook Arnold's face made Helga realize that her jaw had practically fallen on the floor. She readjusted herself and crossed her arms as she observed the boy in front of her. She didn't like surprises and she certainly didn't like someone thinking they got the better of her.

"Oh _puh-lease_ , Football Head. Since when are you my boyfriend?" she asked and quirked an eyebrow at him. Arnold simply smiled his lop-sided smile and hoisted himself over the back of the couch to sit between Phoebe and Rhonda. He laced his hands together and rested them against the back of his head as he leaned back into the couch cushion.

"Since always," he replied and laughed as Helga's eyebrows knitted together in frustration. His eyes fell from her face and traced the shape of her body, she looked hot. Like _really_ hot. He made a mental note to consider offering Rhonda Lloyd his first-born child when the time came, because between this dress and the one at the party he had enough mental images to use in the shower to last him a lifetime. For whatever reason her presence encouraged Helga to wear these bombshell dresses that were something straight out of a junior high fantasy.

"It's rude to stare, Hair Boy," Helga lectured. "Wait hold the fuck on, what are you even doing here!?"

Right on cue, Gerald rounded the corner towards the changing booth, wearing sunglasses with the tag still on them. "Chill, Pataki. Phoebe invited us."

Phoebe shrunk into the couch as Helga glowered at her. "Wanna explain to me why you invited these two idiots?"

However it was Rhonda who answered her blonde friend's question. "Isn't it obvious Helga? We planned on inviting them from the beginning."

Arnold and Helga exchanged surprised looks before staring at their friends.

Rhonda sighed, "We're setting you two up on a date."

"Uh, _why_ are you setting us up on a date?" Arnold asked.

"Oh come on Arnold, it's totally obvious that you two are obsessed with each other. You're either sneaking around licking each other's faces off, as if we are too stupid to notice or you're moping around not talking and expecting us to suddenly give a shit about your love lives, it's annoying. We're all friends so don't put us in the middle," Rhonda stated.

" _Rhonda!"_ Helga hissed, but her black haired friend simply shrugged. "What we do is none of your damn business."

"Quite frankly, the both of you have a habit of making it our business," Phoebe interjected. "It's time for the two of you to confront your feelings and come to some sort of agreement."

Helga whipped her head at her small friend, "Seriously, you too Pheebs? You don't even like Arnold!"

Arnold chuckled and turned to Phoebe, "Aw c'mon Phoebe, I'm not _all_ bad."

Phoebe started blushing uncontrollably, and nervously adjusted her glasses, "Well it's not that I don't like you, Arnold. It's just...well you sort of have a habit of acting like a-"

It was Gerald's turn to speak up, "What Phoebe means is that even though you're a fucking pain in the ass, not unlike Pataki here, you might actually be good for eachother. Of course, you both could be pretty terrible for each other too. It's hard to say." Helga's hands fell to her hips, and the other three teens all flashed him a strange look. "Oh don't y'all look at me like that, we're all thinking the same thing."

"Look, we just thought it would be nice for you guys to get together and go on a real date," Rhonda explained. "We're all getting tired of walking on eggshells around you two, and not knowing what the hell is going on from one day to the next."

"Rhonda's right," Gerald added. "You guys have been going on like this for over a month and aren't any closer to making a damn decision for yourselves. Normally I'd stay out of it but you two are dramatic as hell. It's gettin' old."

Helga paced back and forth as her friends lectured her and Arnold. She could see Rhonda and even Gerald trying to meddle, but Phoebe too?

Helga's annoyance was growing the more the trio spoke, "What gives you guys the right to make us decide?"

Phoebe answered. "No one is making you do anything, Helga. All we are asking is that you two try something more conventional, more foundational. We all have your best interests at heart. I'm sorry to go behind your back but we just thought that-"

"Pheebs. We need to have a little chat," Helga said and forcefully grabbed her friend's wrist and hoisted her off of the couch. She walked them towards the changing booth, slinging open the curtain. Helga turned and feigned a smile, and pushed Phoebe in ahead of her. "Excuse us for a moment, won't you?"

Gerald sighed and shook his head, "Damn shoulda known Pataki would react like this. Arnold I need to talk to you for a second. Rhonda you're good right?"

Rhonda huffed and crossed her arms, "Oh no _please,_ go right ahead. Why should anyone care what I have to say?"

"Look, Phoebe might need a little bit of back-up. You know how Pataki can get," Gerald replied.

" _Fine,"_ she groaned. Gerald gave her a small nod of acknowledgment and ushered Arnold around the corner with him away from the girls.

Meanwhile in the changing booth, Helga was grilling a petrified Phoebe. "What the hell, Phoebe!? What if I don't want to go on a fucking date? Whose lame idea was this, anyway?"

"Helga, I think you should calm down. I just thought that-"

" _You_ just thought? Don't tell me this whole thing was your idea," Helga asked in a low voice.

"Well not exactly. Gerald originally conceived the idea, I was just the one to plan the execution of it," her friend explained.

"You set me up! So what the fuck is Lloyd doing here?"

"Well the idea was to establish something of a romantic evening for you and Arnold. Not only would Rhonda provide an adequate distraction while Gerald retrieved Arnold, but we figured her eye for fashion might be advantageous in-"

Helga scoffed, "In what? Serving me up on a silver platter like some kind of piece of meat?"

"Helga," Phoebe said sternly. "We're doing this _for_ you, we're not doing this _to_ you."

"You sure flip-flopped. Just a couple weeks ago you were practically begging me to drop the guy like a bad habit. Now you want me to go on a date with him? What's your angle here?"

"There's no _angle,_ Helga. Look, Gerald and I have been...talking a bit about the situation. Don't misunderstand, I do firmly believe that your impulsivities are egregious and at times dangerous, and I think the two of you have something of a tough road ahead. But you've both been miserable for weeks now. To be perfectly honest it's making all of us miserable too. The three of us were hopeful that maybe making an effort to bring you two together would be more beneficial than detrimental."

Helga softened a bit, it was quite a thoughtful gesture despite her friends being completely sneaky and dishonest. She was actually a bit impressed with Phoebe, hatching schemes like this wasn't exactly her cup of tea.

Phoebe broke the brief moment of silence, "Listen, I just want you to be happy. We all do. And Arnold too. Do I still think that you need to remain vigilant in holding him accountable? Of course. I already told you, you have all the power to bring out the best in him and possibly procure some positive change, Gerald seems to think similarly of Arnold in regards to you. Arnold hasn't always been my favorite person, but I know he's a decent guy at the very least. And I don't doubt that you can take care of yourself."

Helga couldn't help but smile a bit and felt the anger dissipating, "Alright, alright enough ass kissing. But why do it like this? Why not just try asking us to go on a double date or something less shady?"

Phoebe chuckled, "That wouldn't have been nearly as fun. We thought shopping would provide a boost to your confidence, though watching you squirm while you parade around for Rhonda for a couple of hours is certainly quality entertainment in and of itself. You really should have seen Arnold's face, you would have thought he was seeing the sun for the first time the way he was gawking at you." The two friends giggled together before Phoebe continued, "Look, I'm sorry for going behind your back and for setting this up, we really were just trying to give you a nice surprise."

"Jesus Pheebs, you're goddamn devious. Didn't know you had it in you, it's actually kind of impressive. I gotta be honest here, I'm... _nervous._ Things are just complicated right now, ya know? I mean, screw just being nervous I'm completely terrified. This could go so wrong in so many ways. I don't even know what to do with this anymore."

"Try?" Phoebe asked in a soft, reassuring voice.

The blonde sighed and cradled her head in her hands. She wondered how good of an idea Phoebe and Gerald would think this was if they knew of what happened just a few weeks or so prior at the junkyard. Helga wasn't so sure she was out of the weeds yet when it came to Sid's bullshit, but she didn't want to think of that now. Complicated didn't even scratch the surface, yet there was so much of her that absolutely craved some sort of normalcy. She hadn't had that in a very long time, and she was getting tired of being so fiercely defensive and on-edge all the time. How wonderful would it be to just forget the stinking garbage fire that was her life to be with the one person who she literally lived and breathed love for?

"What was with that lecture though? And where does Rhonda get off saying that shit to me?! She's dating a different guy every other fucking week."

The curtain suddenly flew open, and Rhonda smirked as she glared at the two wide-eyed girls she had taken by surprise.

"I heard that Helga," Rhonda announced.

"Yeah well, it's nothin' I wouldn't say to your face Princess," Helga snapped back. The three shared a brief moment of silence before all laughing together.

* * *

Arnold and Gerald stood inconspicuously in a corner behind a well positioned rack of clothing. Arnold was rightfully confused, it wasn't unlike Gerald to try to push him into doing the right thing but he had never done anything so calculated. He was feeling a bit dejected by Helga's reaction, was going on a date with him so appalling that she needed to cause a scene like that? Sure, he was surprised too but _she_ was acting like their friends were fitting her into a straight jacket to go on a date with Jack the Ripper. Arnold was deep in thought and noticed Gerald studying his face.

"Hey man, you good?" Gerald asked.

"Oh uh, yeah I'm good. Just a bit surprised is all. I thought we were going to the arcade or something, I didn't expect...this," Arnold replied honestly.

"Don't tell me you're trying to get out of a date with the girl," Gerald asked with a raised brow.

"Of course not! I'm just _processing,_ is all."

"Alright listen, I didn't mean to call y'all out like that back there, but you have been driving me crazy for so long with all this Pataki bullshit. You've had years to _process_ ," Gerald stated.

"Dude, it's not that I don't want to date her, it's just well...you know how Helga is. She hides her feelings and it's so insanely confusing. I mean shit, for all I know she's already stormed out of here. It's hard with her sometimes, she's either mad at me or she's-"

"Riding your dick, you don't have to tell me bro," Gerald said, making Arnold turn a deep shade of scarlet. "No one is forcing you to make her your girlfriend, but I do think that ultimately this is going to be a good thing for you man, when's the last time you went on a real date?"

"I get it, but I dunno. There's a lot I still haven't exactly told her yet. Say tonight goes great, and the next night and the next. Say we start going steady again. But then she finds out I'm not...not who I used to be. Not who she thinks I am, or what she wants me to be. What then? At least right now if she walks away, sure I'll be fucking crushed, but she isn't really mine and I'm not really hers. If we start dating and, and I fall for her again, if she walks away I don't know what I'd do," Arnold explained. It felt weird finally saying it all out loud.

"Arnold c'mon, everyone feels like this to some degree. Now I get that your situation is messy as hell right now, but if Helga really likes you the way that I think she likes you, the way _Phoebe_ says she likes you, then I think you've got a fighting chance. Wouldn't you rather take a shot at being happy, knowing that you at least _tried?_ Or do you want to just go down the road to nowhere and watch some other dude crazy enough to fall for Pataki sweep her off her feet because you didn't want to take a chance?"

The thought of another guy with Helga, laughing with her, holding her hand, kissing her, touching her... He could feel his blood boil just thinking about it, he didn't want to know what he might do if that somehow came to fruition. He might actually kill someone.

But still, Arnold had his reservations, "What if I do something to fuck things up? What if I fuck her up? I don't want to do that again."

Gerald clapped a hand on Arnold's shoulder, "Yo you gotta let that shit with Lila go already. That's ancient history, and the girl made plenty of her own choices in the end. Let's not forget that there were a few times you fought to get out of it. That's not to say you didn't do her dirty in a hell of a lot of ways, but she didn't exactly come out of it squeaky clean either. And let's be totally honest here, did you ever give one iota of a fuck about her to begin with? I think we both know the answer to that one. I think we also both know who was on your mind a hell of a lot more than Lila Sawyer ever was."

Arnold knew that Gerald was right. Gerald was also one of the few people close to Arnold that knew about his illegal money making practices, he assured Arnold that he hadn't disclosed this side hustle to Phoebe, and despite this tidbit seemed to be fairly confident that there was a good chance that things could work out. So what was it that Arnold didn't see that his friend clearly did?

"Okay, okay. I get it. What happened with Lila wasn't entirely my fault, that's true. But I mean, there's other stuff too, Helga's always been...elusive," Arnold said, he felt his eyes glaze over for a moment as a certain vision of a soft pink blur flitted around in his brain.

"Oh I know! Why do you think me and Phoebe set this whole thing up? Don't get me wrong, Rhonda just wanted to be here because Phoebe thought buying some new clothes would cheer Helga up. Ya know how that girl is when it comes to shopping. I sure hope it worked though, Pataki's been seeming awfully down lately and a part of me thinks it might not be all your fault this time," Gerald scratched his chin thoughtfully.

Admittedly, Arnold had been noticing a lot of the same. Whether or not he agreed with Gerald in that it had anything to do with him was hard to say though. After their little rendezvous during lunch with Helga a few weeks ago, she had obviously been keeping a bit more of a distance. Arnold wondered if he had done something to inadvertently upset her, but she still texted him almost every night - albeit, rather late often times. And there was one day between classes she practically threw him into a custodial closet for some making out and heavy petting, but a few hours later pretended not to see him in the hall and glued her eyes to her phone to avoid him. She was uncharacteristically jumpy too, Arnold had happened to come up behind her when she was sitting with Gerald and Phoebe in the cafeteria one day and he thought she was going to sock him. And despite the fact that he of course thought that she always looked great, he noticed some very obvious dark circles painted under her eyes a couple of times. He didn't bring it up though, it's not like he had a lot of room to talk about looking rough.

Arnold finally opened his mouth to speak, "What exactly are we supposed to be doing tonight, anyway?"

Gerald smirked, "Well we might need to buy a little more time, you can't be lookin' like that when Pataki's strutting around lookin' like your eighth grade wet dream."

Arnold glared at him intently but Gerald just laughed at his blonde friend, "Don't act like I'm lyin' here, I saw the way you were staring at her. Very indecent, my friend."

"I'm gonna pretend like I didn't hear that...I'm being serious though. Are we just supposed to wander around town trying to find something to do?"

His friend sighed, "C'mon man, you know I wouldn't let that happen. I already took care of everything," Gerald pulled a folded piece of paper out of his pants pocket. "This is your itinerary for the day, you two just need to show up. Rhonda's already paid for the clothes, Phoebe and I pooled money for the rest."

Arnold stared at the list before giving his friend a suspicious look, "Okay, the Harvest Festival and dinner sound fine, but the Circle Theatre? Isn't that place a little...dated?"

"Just trust me bro, have I ever been wrong when it comes to affairs of the heart?"

"Is that supposed to be rhetorical or would you like a list?" Arnold replied.

"Point taken, sheesh. Phoebe helped me come up with this though, it's a foolproof plan!"

Gerald certainly seemed confident, Arnold still had some reservations, but he'd be lying if he hadn't thought about something like this. In fact he had played out several ideal date situations with Helga loads of times in the past. Plus his friend made a good point, was there any harm in trying? They were basically dating as it was now, anyway. Their relationship had never been a conventional one, maybe this would help bridge the gap between their physical intimacy to an emotional one. There was still so much he wanted to know about Helga from her time away, but so far every conversation they had about it was a deeply unpleasant one. Just how much did she endure while she was away?

"Alright, I'll do it! Helga might take a little more convincing though. Like I said though, as far as I know she's probably already-"

"We blowing this popsicle stand or what, Football Head?" a familiar female voice barked.

Gerald shot his friend a cocky smirk, "He was just coming to get you, Rhonda get you all situated?"

"You bet your ass, if I'm being forced to suffer through a day of playing dress-up with Rhonda, I better get some free clothes out of it," Helga replied.

"Well you two better get going then, you've got a schedule to follow," Gerald said as he pushed his friend from out of the corner of the boutique. "Have fun, you crazy kids."

"Sure, whatever," Helga muttered as her and Arnold walked in stride out of the department store together.

* * *

Helga had dressed down a bit, she was wearing a cropped, long sleeved caramel colored sweater, tight high-waisted navy blue skinny jeans and her newly beloved strappy, black combat boots. Arnold thanked her silently, he might have had a hard time acting very gentlemanly if she had worn the former outfit she had on when he first came into the store.

"So uh, Gerald gave me this list," Arnold finally said, and Helga rolled her eyes.

"Oh yeah? What's Geraldo got planned for us today, then?"

"Harvest Festival. It's not too far, actually," Arnold replied, motioning for them to round the curb as they made their way down the streets of downtown Hillwood. "Hey wait a minute, didn't Rhonda buy all those clothes for you?"

"Yeah, she said she was going to drop them off at my house for me. And the Harvest Festival, really? That sounds kinda fun actually. I haven't been since I was a kid," Helga said as a small smile creeped across her face.

Arnold smiled back, "Yeah. Yeah I thought so too. Been a while since I've gone as well."

As they meandered through the bustling city, the Harvest Festival came into view on the pier ahead. They could smell lots of seasonal treats, and saw children running around laughing with large balloons that looked like pumpkins. The scene made Helga suddenly realize that Halloween was around the corner and her smile spread further. Halloween was one of her favorite holidays, and there were many fond memories attached to the holiday from her childhood in her hometown.

As they crossed through the gates that kept the contents of the festival corralled, Helga was taken aback. This wasn't the same humble little event that she remembered from her youth. It was pretty massive actually. There were games, vendors and food trucks set up and even a ferris wheel, this was more like a carnival than the dinky little pumpkin themed kids party with an old bobbing for apples trough that the festival used to be.

"What should we check out first?" she asked.

"Well, we're supposed to go to dinner in a bit, so we probably shouldn't fill ourselves up on-"

 _Too late_ , Arnold thought chuckling to himself as Helga pulled him into the line for candied apples. He figured "when in Rome" and paid for two of the sweet treats. The two found a small bench and indulged together as they watched the events of the festival unfold. It was actually pretty impressive, there were workers dressed in spooky costumes, and even some street performers and jugglers that drew large crowds and wide-eyed children. As the sun began setting over the seaside, Helga snuck a glance at Arnold. The amber light that was cast on his handsome face and the blonde hair peeking out from under his beanie was quite alluring. He looked good, even though he wasn't wearing anything particularly out of the ordinary. There was an undeniable spark in those mossy eyes of his, he seemed happy and that happiness rather suited him.

"Wanna go watch the fire spinners?" Arnold asked to which Helga nodded.

"Definitely! I'm about done with this anyway, I forgot eating one felt like you were pulling all of your teeth out," Helga mused and the two discarded their half eaten apples.

The fire performers were fantastic, there were two of them - one man and one woman. They were both wearing what looked to be jesters costumes, and had their faces painted in a classic black and red harlequin manner. The man had what appeared to be two flaming balls on chains that he spun in such a way it looked like he was weaving illuminated patterns mid-air as the evening sun was setting. The woman spun what seemed to be a baton with orbs of fire on either end. The way she moved with it was hypnotic, almost sultry. The two of them moved quite differently, but they were still synchronous. Helga looked at Arnold, who appeared captivated with the performance. They continued moving and manipulating fire for several more minutes, before the flames finally went out and they bowed graciously to the large crowd.

"C'mon let's go play some games before it gets too late!" Helga exclaimed, interlocking her fingers with Arnold's as she guided them through the crowd.

There was the classic game where you threw a ball at a stack of milk bottles; knock them all down and you win a prize. Helga laughed to herself, remembering sabotaging the same game as a nine year old little girl when she found out Arnold and Lila had accompanied one another to the Annual Cheese Festival. She looked at the various prizes to be won, the grand prizes being large, squishy stuffed animals of different types for the ones who could knock all the bottles down with the least amount of balls used. There were some other, much less appealing prizes for the losers who tried like ugly posters of snakes and furry throw blankets with tigers on them.

"Want one?" Arnold asked as he watched Helga observing the cutesy stuffed animals on the back wall of the gaming booth.

Helga laughed, "With your weak pitch? You couldn't hit the side of a barn, let's just play the ring toss game or something a little easier."

Arnold glared at her and immediately handed money to the festival worker. He was given four balls and there would be three different stacks of bottles he had to hit. The first was a small stack of three, the next was a stack of five, and the last a stack of seven. He only had one extra ball in case one of the stacks required an extra throw, but he didn't want to use it or he wouldn't get the coveted grand prize. And he had to keep Helga's heckling to a minimum, after all. But he would have to be quite precise with his tosses.

"Alright Football Head, you better channel your inner Mickey Kaline here. What would become of our date if you couldn't even win me some crappy unicorn?" she teased.

Arnold silently threw the ball, knocking down the first set of bottles with ease. The worker set up the next more complicated stack, and Arnold threw the ball once more - easily taking down each of the bottles. He must have thrown the ball with a bit of force as one of the bottles was smashed into pieces.

"Hey kid, go easy over there alright? I don't got an unlimited amount of these ya know," the man working the booth said, glaring at Arnold as he set up the next pyramid of bottles.

Helga smirked, it was kind of cute watching Arnold try so hard. The last set of bottles would be where most people admitted defeat, and even though she didn't expect to walk away with a new plushie treasure, it was still fun watching him sticking his tongue out and beaning those bottles. She was always attracted to how good he was at throwing the ball around, he was still damn good too despite not having practiced in a long time. Of course, she would never tell him that, she enjoyed poking fun at him too much to do that.

Arnold squared his shoulders, and stared over the top of the ball at the bottles. He looked at each bottle, trying to determine which would be the one he needed to hit to cause the whole pyramid to collapse. He wound his arm up, and threw the ball at one of the bottles on the bottom in the middle. Helga watched as the ball flew through the air and crashed into the tower of bottles, and smiled as each one hit the ground. Arnold cheered victoriously and beamed at Helga.

"Couldn't hit the side of a barn, huh?! Time to pick your prize, m'lady," he said chuckling as he put his hands on his hips cockily.

Helga couldn't suppress a laugh and pointed to a round white unicorn plushie that was shaped quite like a potato, "Crappy unicorn it is, bucko!"

The two wandered around for a bit, and Helga kept her prize squeezed tightly against her chest. They played more games, observed a borderline disturbing contortionist, and watched some kids laugh as they ran from the creepy, costumed adults that provided many a jump-scare. Helga took her phone out to look at the time, it was almost 7:15 p.m., she wondered when and where exactly they were to be having dinner together.

"It's starting to get late, should we head out?" she asked, Arnold shook his head at her.

"You're nuts if you think we're leaving before we ride the ferris wheel!"

"Seriously? The ferris wheel is so lame Arnold, and I'm starving!' Helga complained.

"Look, there's only like five people in line, it won't take long," he suddenly leaned very close to her ear, and spoke in a low voice that gave her goosebumps, "Plus I need the excuse to get close to you."

There was a bit of a hunger that arose in Helga, and it wasn't her stomach talking, "F-fine. But let's hurry up, it's starting to get freaking cold out here."

Helga jumped a little as she felt a jacket placed over the shoulders of her crossed arms that were tightly wrapped around her new fuzzy companion. She quickly glanced at Arnold who silently placed his hands back in his pockets.

"Always so chivalrous, you didn't have to give me your freaking jacket," she muttered.

Arnold leaned his face close to hers, "So give it back then."

"Hell no! If you're making me ride this monstrosity it's the least you can do," Helga retorted making Arnold chuckle.

A small group of people, mostly couples, exited the ferris wheel ride and the teens took their place in line. Arnold gave the ride operator some money before the two blondes were quickly ushered into their seat, with the safety bar promptly locked into place. Helga was never a huge fan of heights, but Arnold seemed dead set on doing this before they left so she wanted to oblige. After the last few people were all seated on the ride, the ferris wheel was finally set into motion. As the ride started moving, the chill in the air hit Helga like a punch to the gut. She had given her prized plushie to the ride operator for safekeeping and was now fully regretting that decision. She was freezing, and now the sun had set, taking with it any of its remaining warmth, her breath appeared in a little cloud in front of her face as she exhaled, and her body shook in a feeble attempt to warm itself up.

A strong, warm arm cradled around her, and Arnold pulled Helga's body close to his. Normally she would say something to try and give him a hard time, but she couldn't find the words. If she was feeling breathless from the shock of the cold before, that was only exacerbated by the sudden close proximity now. As her head laid against his chest, she listened to the wub-lub of his heart beating. It didn't take long for his body heat to envelop her, though she was sure she was feeling a bit flushed from simply having close contact with him. It didn't matter how close they had gotten previously, or how many times, he always had that effect on her.

"What do you think of all this?" Arnold asked.

Helga was puzzled, "The Harvest Festival? Not bad, definitely a bigger deal now than what I remember."

"That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about _this,_ us," he responded.

"I mean, it's... _fine._ There's worse people to spend a Saturday night with," she answered in her usual smart-aleck fashion.

Arnold sighed, "When are we going to talk about this? You've been avoiding me for like two weeks now, when you're not trying to suck face or texting me at midnight."

Helga pulled back, "Talk about _what_ , exactly?" she asked, feigning ignorance. "And I have not been ignoring you and I do not text you at fucking midnight, give me a break."

"Helga stop, I'm not trying to fight okay? I just want to talk, did I do something to piss you off? I really, _really_ would like some clarity. Give me a fucking break," he answered.

Helga cringed, she could tell she had struck a nerve. The problem was she didn't know how to even begin to answer his question. Should she be honest? About the night she followed him? About what happened with Sid? About how she was trying to keep something of a distance because just the fucking thought of him was like taking a shot of dopamine and endorphins straight into her arm? She was terrified of confessing to most of those things, especially considering the very plain warning she received from Sid. She needed to clear the air though, she knew that much. Helga thought to herself for a moment, there had to be a way to bring some of this to the surface without putting Arnold in Sid's line of fire.

"Arnold I need to ask you something," she finally said seriously. Arnold gave her curious look before simply nodding in affirmation. "Are you dealing drugs?"

Arnold was sure all of the color had drained from his face. _Damn it._

"Wh-where did you hear that from?"

"Around. Now answer the question," Helga replied.

Arnold gulped, "I'm not really sure if now's the righ-"

Helga grabbed Arnold by his collar and pulled his face close to hers, "Answer the question, Football Head," she said in a low, almost gravelly voice.

Helga was looking Arnold deep in the eyes, it took everything he had not to avert his gaze from hers. He felt shame creeping up on him, he knew that she had to find out eventually but he really preferred not to tarnish their date. He was kicking himself, he should have just left things how they were, he shouldn't have said anything to her. He should have known better, Helga Pataki had always been at least three steps ahead of him for as long as he could remember.

"Seems like you might already know the answer," he muttered. Helga's eyes narrowed, making Arnold squeeze his own shut. "Alright fine, yes."

Helga's grip relaxed and she pulled her face back. She felt relieved, she didn't think it would be that easy. Thank god for her gift of intimidation.

"Your turn," she said, releasing him from her grasp.

"My turn to what?"

"To ask me a question."

Arnold cocked an eyebrow at her, Helga never failed to surprise him, "Okay, back to my first question then, what do you think of all this?"

"I think I like _this_ better when you're honest with me," she replied.

"Just answer the question!"

"I don't understand the damn question," she argued.

Arnold really didn't want to spell it out but he knew she wasn't about to budge, " _Me_ , what do you think of me? Our date? Hanging out together?"

"Um...nice. It's all very uh, nice," she said. Arnold was getting frustrated.

"First 'fine' and now 'nice?' You're a fucking poet and that's all you can say, that everything is _nice_?!"

 _Danger zone, Helga ol' girl. Don't do it, don't open the flood gate. Keep your fucking head on straight,_ Helga recited as a manta in her head.

"Okay um, _really_ nice?" Helga stated.

"You are so irritating, you know that? I tell you the one thing I've been terrified of you finding out about for weeks now and that's what you give me?" Arnold's voice was rising as he spoke.

"I don't know what else you want me to say, Football Head," she argued.

"Just say the truth!"

"You want the truth?! Fine, I love it okay? I love it so much that it's fucking overwhelming. It's like there's a fucking raging sea of emotions churning inside of me because not only am I _obsessed_ with you, but you're so god damn cryptic it's actually scary because I can't begin to even try to figure you out. You're such a damn mess Arnold, and it's frustrating because I'm a mess too, I'm the biggest fucking mess and I don't know what in the ever-loving _fuck_ what we are going to do or where we go from here. I'm struggling between keeping myself afloat long enough to actually feel happy for the first time in five years and getting pulled down into an endless sea of shit and heartbreak. I'm literally drowning but when I'm with you it's like...like I can breathe," Helga had spoken so quickly that she was practically gasping for air by the end. Once her own words dawned on her, she immediately slapped a shaky hand to her forehead, that wasn't what she was supposed to say.

 _Shit. Flood gates opened,_ she thought. Arnold was obviously taken aback as he stared at her with a wide-eyed gaze. Helga looked away from his searching eyes, she was nervous about what he might say after that debacle.

"Your turn," Arnold stated simply.

"W-what?"

"It's your turn. Ask me a question," he said. Frankly, Helga was a bit lost for words. Her mind felt like someone left a television on a station of static, so much noise, but also nothing at all.

"O-okay," she thought for a moment. "Well what about you? What do you think about us and...stuff?"

Arnold pondered and laughed lightly, "I mean, you're not wrong about anything. We kind of are a mess, but it's sort of a lovely mess, don't you think?"

A small smile found her lips and she exhaled in relief, "It is sort of lovely, yes."


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long update time! This chapter was a pain for me to write, regardless I hope you enjoy it! This chapter will kind of act as the transition to the next story arc, which I'm sure will become evident as you read. Thanks for reading!

**All cast and characters of Hey Arnold! belong to Craig Bartlett.**

**Chapter 12: Swing with me**

Helga and Arnold enjoyed what was essentially an uneventful but pleasant dinner together. After they had exited the ferris wheel and left the Harvest Festival, Gerald's itinerary directed that they go to a new restaurant in the heart of the downtown area not far from the pier. It was sort of a hipster joint, the internal décor featured a lot of potted foliage and ivies that climbed terraces set around the dining area, but despite the natural nuances was still very sleek and modern in its architecture. The place was adorned with edison bulbs and lots of low lighting that made for a very cozy atmosphere. A good looking older woman, probably in her late twenties, greeted them at the door and informed them that they had a reservation made under their names before guiding them to a nice table with plush suede seats. The seating they had found themselves in was just one big booth with a table in front and was pretty private, the big leather seat reminded Helga a bit of a clam shell in its appearance.

The two blondes shared an appetizer together, and dined on exquisite food that was advertised as being made using the freshest local ingredients. The two each ordered a different kind of artisan panini, which would normally be a bit underwhelming, but the use of high quality ingredients and house-made aioli and sauces made them quite enjoyable. Both of them were quite surprised to find out that a card had been left on file to pay for their entire meal. The waitress insisted that the cardholder had made sure to leave a decent tip, but Arnold still felt obliged to leave some money on the table. They had finished dinner almost right on schedule, which was surprising since they had bordered on overstaying at the Harvest Festival after deciding to enjoy the ferris wheel together.

Helga was surprised when very shortly after they settled their bill, while sitting and chatting in their booth, to receive a text from Rhonda Lloyd.

"Are you two close to being done eating?" the message read.

Helga's fingers quickly tapped out a response: "Yea, just finished. Why what's it to ya?"

A message in response came almost instantly: "Always the charmer ;) finish up and come outside"

Helga groaned audibly, earning her a questioning look from Arnold, "I think Rhonda is somewhere around here, she's saying she wants me to come out."

"Rhonda? Why is she here?" he asked.

"Fuck if I know Hair Boy, but Rhonda isn't the type to just go away when she's unwanted."

Arnold felt a bit annoyed, but clearly he wasn't the only one who preferred some distance from her after the encounter earlier at the boutique. They excused themselves from the booth and went outside to find a very non-inconspicuous fancy black car parked right outside. Like clockwork, one of the heavily tinted windows nearest to them rolled down.

"Helga darling, over here!" Rhonda beckoned. Helga sighed and looked at Arnold.

"Look I dunno what she has planned, but knowing Rhonda the sooner I talk to her and get this over with the quicker she'll leave me alone."

Arnold nodded and Helga quickly walked around the vehicle, opened the door and slid onto the sleek leather interior inside. She closed the door and immediately shot her svelte friend a dirty look.

"Alright I'm here, wanna explain to me why you're crashing the date you forced me to go on in the first place?"

Rhonda was gazing at herself in a handheld mirror but quickly snapped it shut, "Oh _please_ , as if I have to force you to spend a Saturday night with Arnold Shortman. Fortunately for you, this is just a pop-in. I have some clothes for you," she stated simply.

"Uh, okay? You were supposed to drop them off at my house, remember?" Helga asked.

"I did drop them off, everything but this anyway. I picked this one out after you left. The fit should be perfect for you, I made sure of that," Rhonda said before shoving one of the fancy paper bags from the boutique at Helga. "You'll be needing this little number before you two head to the Circle Theatre."

Helga pulled the tissue paper from the top of the bag and eyed a wad of black sequins inside, "Criminy, more clothes?! What do I need this for? I mean, the Circle is pretty lame and old, wanna explain why I need to dress up just for that stuffy, old place?"

Rhonda smirked, "You'll find out once you get there. Now I know changing in the back seat of a car isn't exactly ideal-"

"Oh _fuck no,_ " Helga replied, "I am NOT changing back here, what if someone sees me?"

"Helga no one is going to see you. Hell, I'm not even sure if the tint on these windows is street legal. Besides," Rhonda leaned forward and pressed a button that made a window rise between the two girls and the driver, "Your little boyfriend is gone, which means that Gerald already found him. You'll look ridiculous if he's all dressed up and you're wearing _that._ "

"Arnold's dressing up too?" Helga asked softly, imagining him in more adult, more formal attire. The thought excited her, she saw how good he looked at Rhonda's party, but this was for her, for _them._ Maybe this wouldn't be so bad, after all.

"Alright, fine," Helga said. "But the second one of these creeps off the street starts drooling on the window I'm out of here," she said and started slipping out of her jeans.

As she changed, Rhonda suddenly remembered a vital detail, "Oh! You'll be needing these too. Not that those boots don't give you a sexy dominatrix-vibe, but these will fit the theme much better." Rhonda pulled a pair of black pumps out of a small bag on the floor of the car.

" _Theme?_ Christ, what the hell are we walking into, exactly?" Helga asked as Rhonda zipped the back of her dress.

"I already told you, you'll find out when you get there," she looked at Helga now clad in the sequined black dress. "Now put these on."

Helga snatched the shoes from her friend and slid them onto her feet, afterwards her friend handed her a pair of black satin elbow-length gloves.

The blonde eyed the scraps of fabric suspiciously but obediently slid them over her hands and up her slender arms, "Now there's gloves? You've gotta be joking."

Clearly there was no joking to be had as Rhonda suddenly grabbed at Helga's long blonde hair, using her fingers to comb through it. Helga winced and tried protesting, but Rhonda ignored her as she used her fingers and a can of hairspray to make soft curls in her golden locks.

"Jesus fuck Rhonda, what the hell are you doing to me?!"

"I'm just fixing you up a little bit, now quit squirming around so much I'm almost done," Rhonda replied.

After a while Rhonda seemed satisfied and suddenly pressed the edge of her hand to Helga's forehead to shield her eyes before unleashing the contents of a hair spray can over her head.

"Shit he's back. Okay, take this or you'll freeze your ass off," the raven-haired girl said as she handed Helga a white fur shawl. She observed her for a moment before motioning her to leave. "Ugh I guess this will just have to do, now have fun and don't do anything I wouldn't!" Rhonda instructed before knocking on the glass in front of her, urging the driver to open the rear door for Helga.

Helga coughed, choking on the aerosol fumes before stumbling out of the vehicle, "Well that sure gives me lots of options for the night."

Rhonda chose to ignore her comment, "Have fun Helga! Be sure to text Phoebe or myself that you've made it home safely."

Before Helga could come up with a snarky reply, the car tore away leaving her on the damp street. _What a goddamn nuisance,_ she thought as the car disappeared from in front of her. A new vision met her eyes, and she had to make herself snap back into a state of normalcy before inching forward. She saw Arnold, clad in black slacks and a tight fitted black dress shirt with red suspenders and a matching silky bowtie. On his feet were black and white wing-tip shoes, the beanie he was wearing before was gone, replaced with well kempt and slicked back blonde hair. He looked positively dapper, and as soon as their eyes met Helga found herself surprisingly excited for what the rest of the night might hold for them.

* * *

Arnold stared wide-eyed at his blonde companion. Helga looked amazing. Even in the soft light of the street lamps shining above, he was absolutely taken by her. It was strange, as she emerged from behind the fancy Wellington-Lloyd car, it was almost like he was seeing her for the first time. Time felt like it had all but stopped, as if someone was squeezing the very concept and only allowing the seconds to barely trickle through their fingers. He inadvertently thought about the pink blur that had been taunting him in his dreams for quite some time now, and he was strangely feeling a bit at peace with it. The dense pink mist as well as Helga no longer felt so elusive to him.

Finally, as if someone slammed a finger on the "play" button of life, everything resumed at it's normal speed and Helga stood before him, a small smile painting her porcelain face.

"You look lovely," he said as pink spread across his face.

"Ya know you don't clean up so bad yourself, Football Head. You look rather _dashing_ in that get-up," Helga said with a smirk. Arnold smiled but couldn't help rolling his eyes at her.

"Well, shall we?" he asked and offered his arm to Helga. She blushed, snaking her arm around his and they walked together down the street towards the Circle Theatre.

_Criminy this thing is tacky,_ she thought as she investigated the white mink around her shoulders. Helga thought that fur was pretty disgusting in general, but so far the night had gone off without a hitch. She could be a good sport, and at least it was stopping her from freezing to death.

"Did Gerald give you any hint of what we were supposed to be doing? We look like characters out of a thirties gangster movie," Helga remarked.

"Nah, he wouldn't breathe a word."

"Figures. Those smug bastards know I don't like surprises," Helga murmured.

They walked together in silence for a moment, and were now only a few blocks away from their destination. There was a question Arnold had been wanting to ask since the ferris wheel ride, but he had been struggling to word it correctly. In actuality it was a question he had long wanted to ask since before the Harvest Festival, even. He knew now, at least right this very moment on the street, wasn't the time to ask. That didn't do anything to calm his nerves though. He was honestly feeling thankful towards Gerald, Phoebe and Rhonda. Tonight felt totally different for him as he was so profoundly intoxicated with just the atmosphere that surrounded Helga and himself. The bright orb suspended above them that was the moon cast silver light down onto them, illuminating Helga in such a striking way it took everything in him not to stare at her like a bumbling idiot.

"Something on your mind, Arnold?" Helga asked softly.

Arnold didn't know how to respond, there was _so much_ on his mind but this wasn't the time nor the place. He had a feeling that he would know exactly when his question would be appropriate, he would have to follow his gut - something that he had refused to take heed from in a very, very long time.

Arnold simply shook his head and smiled, "N-no, nothing. Just kinda anxious or something you know? It's the not knowing that gets me with this, they could have at least told us what we're walking into."

Helga suddenly stopped and gave a modest smile with eyes fixated on the pavement, "I get it, trust me. And I don't know what it is but I just feel like...I dunno, like something is about to happen. That probably sounds stupid, and I honestly can't even begin to put my damn finger on what that 'something' might be. Do you get what I'm saying?"

The blonde boy was taken aback at her words, "Um, _yeah,_ actually. I do." He grabbed her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Helga was surprisingly perceptive, though something could only happen if he could build up the courage to make it happen.

They had finally arrived at their final destination, and were relieved to see they weren't overdressed for the occasion. Women with finger curls and long stemmed cigarette holders stood near, many accompanied by gentlemen in zoot suits and fedora or boater hats. The distinct sound of swing music could be heard from outside the venue as the muffled brass instruments reverberated the notes of "Minnie the Moocher." The two stood in line and steadily proceeded forward. When they finally approached the bouncer taking tickets from the attendees, Arnold reached into the pocket of his slacks and handed two stubs to the bouncer.

Helga scoffed before they entered the large, extravagant doors of the Circle Theatre, "Wait, you had tickets but didn't even know what they were for?"

"Gerald just handed me the tickets, all they had were numbers and 'Swing into the Past' printed on them. That's not exactly a lot of information for me to go off of."

"Fine whatever, you're right. Let's just go inside, it's cold out here," Helga conceded.

Arnold pushed the large mahogany door open and held it for his date, Helga walked through the threshold with a bit of hesitation - she really _didn't_ like surprises, she wasn't lying about that. Her eyes widened at the sight of what looked like a cocktail party from something like eighty-five years ago. Perfectly coiffed hair, elbow length gloves and tight-fitting, floor length satin dresses were abundant among the ladies of the crowd. The men were fitted into pinstriped suit jackets, suspenders and collared shirts. The music was almost ear splitting as the sounds of horns, drums and a piano bounced off from the arched ceiling and marble walls of the theatre. A Helen Forest sound-alike sung into a vintage looking ribbon microphone, and cradled it in a very sultry, almost seductive fashion.

Helga found herself in an almost trancelike state observing the woman perform. Her timbre and vibrato was like nothing she had ever heard before. She felt her breath leave her as Arnold suddenly squeezed her hand in his and swung her under his arm. A smile crept across her face, she had no knowledge of the form of dance from this era, but she didn't care. She felt free and lithe in Arnold's arms. The two swung themselves around each other wildly, and smiled and laughed in a way that was almost foreign to them. A dark cloud had hung over the two so much before that it was almost strange feeling so carefree and jovial together now. There were small tables set out on the floor, and there was no differentiating where people were sitting and socializing or tearing it up dancing. Normally this would seem to be chaotic, but it worked surprisingly well.

Soon the music stopped for an intermission and the two blondes, after several minutes of spinning and dancing in each other's arms, made their way to one of the small tables and sat. Neither of them had really had any idea of what dance was appropriate for this era of music but they couldn't care less. They were both out of breath, but had smiles plastered on their faces. As they took their respective seats, Helga and Arnold looked up at one another and immediately started laughing.

"Okay, I know I was skeptical at first, but this is actually pretty cool," Helga said.

Arnold smiled, "Right? I'm kinda surprised those three came up with this idea. It doesn't really seem like something that it's any of their wheelhouses. Hell, it's not really in mine either, to tell ya the truth."

"Yeah, mine neither. Gotta admit this shindig isn't half bad."

"Oh?" Arnold remarked and raised an eyebrow. "Enjoying my company, are we?"

Helga blushed and a scoff left her lips, "A-as if! I just like the music, that's all."

Arnold's index finger found its way under her chin and gently lifted her face, raising her eyes to meet his.

"I think you're lying," he said as a lopsided smile spread across his face. He leaned in close, making Helga's face redden deeply. He chuckled softly as her hardened expression melted under the mischievous gaze of his mossy eyes. "I think you like me quite a lot."

_This cocky bastard,_ Helga thought to herself. The kid was nothing if not surprising. Still, as much as she loved when he fixated on her, she wasn't keen on letting him have the upper hand.

"Do I? Wanna tell me what it is I like about you?" she inquired with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

"My unwavering charm and devilishly handsome looks, obviously," Arnold replied without missing a beat.

_When did he get so fucking witty?_ Helga questioned silently. She didn't have much more time to ponder the annoying musings of sixteen year old Arnold, as the synapses in her brain that indicated pleasure started firing rapidly. Arnold's lips met with hers, his hand moved from her chin to instead cradle the side of her face. She allowed her eyes to close, and reclaimed her mind from the vice-like grip of passion that stopped any conscious flow of thoughts. Her mouth kissed him back, and neither one of them dared pull back from the other, instead allowing themselves to remain magnetized for several moments. When their lips did finally part, Helga felt a warmth from her core that emanated throughout her extremities, and down to her fingertips. Arnold placed his elbow on the table and used his hand to support his head. He stared at her intently, and she felt herself shift in her seat a bit under his intense gaze.

"What?" she asked.

"I think you know what," he answered simply.

Helga was confused. Why couldn't he just come right out and say what was on his mind? He had a habit of dead-locking her with his eyes, as if he was trying to communicate telepathically to her. She didn't understand his aloof nature, it only made her feel nervous.

Helga sighed, she was growing tired of these guessing games, "I actually don't, Football Head. If you've got something to say spit it out already."

"You really don't know, huh?" he asked quietly as a smirk spread across his face. The band was setting themselves back up on stage, and the lights started dimming indicating that their brief moment of silence was about to come to an end. "Rain check."

"You've gotta be kidding me-," Helga started, but was cut off by a trumpet sounding off from the stage. She growled in frustration. Their timing really was always shit, wasn't it?

Helga needed something to take the scratch out of her throat, to her relief she saw a bar set up on the other side of the dance floor, she went to stand and leaned close to Arnold's ear.

"I'm gonna grab a drink, you want anything?" she asked loudly.

Arnold shook his head no, and watched as his date disappeared into the crowd. Helga really enjoyed the vintage vibe around her. Her idea of a party was a bunch of drunk teenagers making out or rough housing and doing stupid shit like throwing firecrackers at eachother or playing beer pong. This felt so sophisticated and adult without feeling stuffy or boring. She approached the bar and there were several people gathered around drinking out of wine glasses or little clear glasses half-filled with brown liquid. One side of the bar had an actual pyramid of filled champagne glasses, Helga wondered if that was purely for show or if they were for the attendees. She stared at the glasses, but caught a glimpse of the bartender from out of her peripheral vision.

"What can I get for ya, miss? I see you eyeing the champagne over there, care for a glass?"

It suddenly occurred to Helga that nearly every person around her was five to ten years older than her at least. He didn't seem suspicious of her, if he wanted to card her she could just say she didn't have an I.D. with her and decline. No harm in trying.

"Uh sure, I'd take a glass," she said with a nod.

The bartender took two glasses from the stack of glasses and handed them to her.

"Better take two, I'd hate to make a lady make several trips just for this stuff. Between you and me, it's actually just sparkling wine, and it's the cheap stuff. But it's on the house. You want anything else?"

"A cup of water, please."

He handed her a small paper cup of water, she downed it and then chased it with one of the glasses of fizzy liquid, consuming all if it's contents quickly.

The bartender chuckled, "Thirsty huh? Here, take one more. If you're wearing heels like every other gal in here you're not gonna want to be shoving your way through that crowd."

"Yeah sure, thanks," she said and started drinking from her second glass, slower this time but not by much.

Helga grabbed the remaining glass, thanked the bartender one last time and made her way back to the table where Arnold was sitting. Her own words from earlier: 'I just feel like...I dunno, like something is about to happen' reverberated around her mind, but she did all she could to ignore the sentiment. If she thought about it too much, certainly she'd jinx it. They watched the singer perform her songs with sensual overtones sprinkled amongst the musical numbers, captivating the audience in front of her. Helga could definitely see the appeal of a concert with music from this era, who knew the trumpet could be anything other than annoying? She could feel herself growing tipsy, though she didn't mind, the alcohol was amplifying her joy and stifling her nervousness. When was the last time her and Arnold went on an actual date, anyway? Long before she originally moved to California, that much she knew for certain. She sipped a bit from the glass in her hand, Arnold gave her something of a curious look as she did, unsure if it was sparkling cider or if she somehow managed to acquire actual alcohol from an open bar without an I.D.

Helga could feel Arnold staring at the glass in her hand, and assumed that it was because he was just wanting to drink it's contents.

"Hey Football Head, you want some of this champagne? They were giving them out at the bar!" Helga yelled to him over the music.

Normally, Arnold's reaction at any kind of party would be to accept anything, alcohol or otherwise, without much question. He had been living in a bit of a feedback loop lately: party to forget the shit in his life, consume alcohol to block out the terrible people at said party, sober up and actually have to confront his reality, rinse and repeat. However, it was strange, because at this moment the last thing he was craving was any mood or mind altering substances. Being around Helga was enough to occupy his mind, and he wanted to have some clarity this time. Not that he minded if she decided to have a few drinks, she did have a penchant for partying but not nearly the level that he did. Besides, who was he to judge? They drank together plenty of times before, but this was different - _he was sober._ And with that fact in mind he was fairly convinced that drunk Helga was probably pretty adorable.

And honestly, today was really something else altogether, they were getting along so well. He was already completely enamoured with her, and if he lowered his inhibitions around her in a dress like that dancing with one another they risked a repeat of Rhonda Lloyd's party. Things might start out great, but could end in total shit. He was still totally embarrassed for crying like he did in front of her. And honestly, did he really need something like alcohol that would probably only serve to make him more horny _and_ mopey right now? He had been keeping himself a bit more in line with his alcohol intake around her after that night, there was a certain side of him when he drank that she didn't need to see, that she had only caught a very small sight of at Rhonda's. Even at the bonfire, despite drinking liquor he made sure to stay somewhat lucid.

Helga stared at him, expecting an answer, "Nah I'm good. That's all you, Helga." Arnold motioned to the drink in her hand. She simply shrugged and gulped down the contents of the glass.

"C'mon Arnoldo, let's go dance!" she said excitedly.

"Can't we sit for a bit longer?" he whined.

Helga rolled her eyes before grabbing his hands and pulling him up, "You can sulk in the corner later, we don't have all freakin' night, ya know."

" _Fine_ , I can't say no to that charming eyeroll of yours. Let's do it then," Arnold said with a smile.

Helga chuckled and pulled him onto the dance floor. She felt good, albeit a bit wobbly but she didn't care. Arnold watched her in amusement as she spun him around enthusiastically. She almost twisted an ankle as she flailed, and he silently thanked himself for holding back from the libations that evening as he swiftly caught her. She looked up at him with wide glassy blue eyes, and a surprised look painted her alcohol-flushed face.

"You okay?" Arnold asked.

Helga clapped a hand to the back of his head and forced his lips to meet hers. Arnold gasped, she had certainly caught him off guard. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain on his lower lip that made him reel back.

"Helga what the hell, did you just bite me?"

Helga sputtered with laughter, "Aw c'mon it was a love bite."

"You shouldn't go around biting people, they might bite you back," he said, trying to joke along but still annoyed as his lip throbbed.

"Oh Christ you're _so_ fucking tough," Helga replied and laughed harder. "Careful though, I might like it, Football Head."

"Brave tonight, aren't we?" he asked, pressing his lips up against her ear.

Helga shuddered, and goosebumps pricked up her arms. "Ya know what they say about liquid courage, Hair Boy," she said and gave him a gentle push. "Here, hold this for me, would ya?"

She handed him the plush mink piece of Rhonda's. Arnold took it and raised an eyebrow at her, "Going somewhere?"

"Yep! Be back in a flash, don't you worry your pretty head," she replied with slightly slurred words, and tousled his hair in the same manner one might do to a child.

Helga skipped off and Arnold just smiled and shook his head. _She's impossible,_ he thought fondly and watched her approach the bar.

"Oh lord, drinking more huh? Well, this could get interesting," he said aloud, and watched as she downed another glass and laughed loudly at a bewildered and possibly concerned looking barkeep.

She stumbled a bit as she made her way back through the crowd, bumping into several disgruntled looking onlookers as she did. Arnold snickered, as she fumbled forward obliviously, waving a bit too enthusiastically at him, as if she thought for some reason she was not the most obvious thing in the whole room. She moved towards him at a near run, and he wrapped his arms around her waist upon her approach. _Yep, definitely adorable,_ he thought.

Helga threw her arms around his neck and squeezed, "Aw Arnold, I missed you!"

"You were gone for literally five minutes," he replied a bit hoarsely from her grip, but with a grin all the same. She sure was affectionate tonight.

"Oh puh-lease don't act like you didn't miss me too!" she said, and constricted him even tighter.

"Alright, alright you don't have to choke the life outta me over it," he pleaded, and Helga loosened her arms obediently.

"Good, glad we could settle that, then," she announced before stumbling awkwardly. She gasped as her right ankle buckled, and she fell hard to the marble floor beneath her feet.

" _Fuck!_ My leg!" she screeched, and writhed in pain grasping at her leg.

Arnold immediately fell to the ground next to her, letting the strip of mink crumple into a pile next to them, "Shit, are you okay?"

"What do you think, idiot? Of course not! Rhonda you dumb cow, why'd you make me wear these?"

"Listen, let's get you up off the floor. Do you think you can walk?" Arnold asked, and extended a hand out to help hoist her up.

Helga tried positioning her feet under her to stand, but winced and dropped back down. Arnold carefully took her ankle and examined it, it was hot and he could feel it pulsating in his grasp. _Shit it's already swelling,_ he thought. Without another word, he wrapped his jacket around her shoulders and gently scooped her up.

"What the hell I'm not an invalid! Put me down I can walk just fine, you might just have to spot me-,"

"Helga, please just stop talking. I'll call Gerald and have him come pick us up," Arnold said while grabbing his phone out of the pocket of his trousers.

He delicately set Helga down on one of the chairs of their table and gave her a stern look, "Okay, you stay put, I'm not gonna be able to hear a thing in here so I'm gonna head to the bathroom. For real, stay put."

"I get it I won't move a damn muscle, hurry up and call Geraldo," she replied.

Arnold's eyes stayed fixed on her for a moment before he turned on his heel and headed towards the lobby. _Criminy what a disaster,_ Helga thought to herself as she looked around the venue. She should have known she would jinx things, she always had an uncanny way of messing something up somehow. It was maddening, they had been having such a fun time. Her and Arnold were joking and flirting, the whole night was going absolutely perfectly until now.

Helga's eyes continued scanning the crowd, annoyed seeing so many other couples having their fun nights go off without a hitch. What she wouldn't give to see an epic brawl between a couple of these lovey-dovey morons. Suddenly, her eyes widened at a familiar and likely very expensive piece of clothing that belonged to her dear friend in the middle of the floor several yards away from her. She saw the limp piece of white fur getting trampled by a couple dancing, none the wiser to the many thousands of dollars they were dirtying under their wildly moving feet. _Fuck, Rhonda's dead animal!_ she thought and frantically tried to hoist herself up from the table. Tears stung her eyes, she definitely had a pretty nasty sprain but she would have to endure, god forbid she should owe someone like Rhonda Lloyd any favors. She slipped the high heel shoes off of her feet and hobbled on her left leg towards the dance floor. Unfortunately the alcohol was still coursing through her and she collapsed pathetically, making her shriek in frustration.

"Ah fuck, I told you to stay put!" Arnold's voice said from behind her. "I should have known better, what the hell are you doing anyway?"

"It's Rhonda's stupid animal carcass, those two mouth-breathers are stomping all over it," she whined. Arnold sighed and clapped a hand to his forehead.

"Listen I'll grab it. Just _stay there_ , okay? Seriously, stay right the fuck there," he said and walked away to retrieve the fluffy garment.

"Oh sure Football Head, I'll just stay on the damn floor. Could have at least brought me back to the table," she mumbled as she watched Arnold awkwardly ask the couple to relocate from atop Rhonda's fine fur shawl.

Helga looked around as she pouted. The two of them together were like a magnet for bad luck but still, the night was better than she expected. It was nice spending time with Arnold away from all the bullshit and the drama. It was frustrating though since she wanted a night like this more than anything, leave it to her to have one too many and end up a dirty mess on the floor. She watched as couples danced and laughed and drank. She watched the lovely songstress on stage belt out her jazzy riffs to the sounds of brass horns and a jaunty piano. As her eyes fell back onto the crowd, she had a very faint feeling of someone's eyes boring holes into her. She searched the crowd, and found a silhouette, she could barely make it out but was quite certain they were staring right at her. They looked...familiar, maybe? It was hard to tell, the dim lighting and her slightly blurred vision did her no favors. She was sure that she recognized them, but from where? She shook her head and sighed, it probably didn't matter, there was bound to be a person or two here that she recognized, right?

"Hey, spacing out over here?" Arnold said, the fine white fur now soiled with brown and gray spots, was slung over his shoulder.

"Uh, n-no of course not," she said and looked back to where the familiar silhouette had been, but they had gone.

"Whatever you say," Arnold said and crouched with his back towards her, "Gerald just texted me, he's about a minute away. Climb on my back and we'll wait outside. You keep the jacket on so you don't get cold."

Helga couldn't think of a reason to argue and crawled onto him and slung her arms around his neck. He hooked his hands under her legs and walked them outside. They waited for only a moment before Gerald pulled up in his Subaru.

He quickly pulled up to the curb and rolled the passenger side window down, "Pataki how'd I know you'd find some way to wreck all our hard work?"

"Oh piss off," she replied.

Gerald chuckled, "Easy girl, I'm just fucking with y'all. Alright, Gerald's taxi service is here. Where to first?"

Helga saw a figure out of the corner of her eye in the alley next to the Circle Theatre, shrouded in the darkness cast by the building that even the street lights couldn't penetrate. Goosebumps pricked up along Helga's arms and legs and she uneasily told herself it was just the cold air of the autumn night. She tried hard to make her eyes focus, it was the same person as before, she was sure of it. But who was it? If it was really someone she knew, wouldn't they have said hello by now? Or at least not stare at her from a distance like some creep?

"Helga did you hear me?" Arnold asked loudly.

"Huh? What? No, sorry. What is it?"

"I said we're gonna take you home, do you want me to sit in the back with you?" Arnold asked.

"Oh uh, sure. Sounds good," she said and craned her neck to look back the alleyway, the figure once again had vanished from her sight.

_Easy Helga, ol' girl. It's probably nothing. You're drunk and seeing shit, get a fucking grip,_ she thought as Arnold opened the door to the backseat of the Subaru and crouched down. She slid backwards off of him and into her seat with Arnold occupying the one next to her.

"Oh shit, I forgot your shoes," Arnold said and leaned out the door to retrieve them.

"Arnold it's fine just leave them, I really just want to go home," Helga said softly.

Arnold looked at her and frowned, "But...I dunno they looked nice. I don't mind grabbing them it'll only take a minute-,"

Helga couldn't shake the heebie-jeebies she had from the shadowy figure, not to mention her throbbing ankle and a massive headache setting in. She could live without the pair of heels that tried to kill her.

"Arnold, please. I'm tired, I just want to go home," she said wearily.

Arnold froze for a moment and looked at her pleading eyes curiously. She could tell that he wanted to say something in protest, but for whatever reason decided not to. He nodded silently at her and shut the car door before buckling his seat belt. Helga could see Gerald's eyes watching their interaction in the rearview mirror.

"Can I drive now, or what's goin' on?" Gerald asked.

"Yes, drive Geraldo," Helga snapped.

"Alright damn. Don't bite my head off, Pataki."

* * *

Arnold carried Helga up the stairs to her bedroom as carefully as he could, the toes of his feet made delicate contact with each step as he made his ascent. He quite preferred to make as little noise as possible, despite Helga's reassurance that her parents were already asleep in bed. He didn't worry about Miriam, she had at least been cordial with him in the past when he first dated Helga. Plus she drank so heavily there wasn't much, except perhaps a bomb going off in the living room, that would awaken her from her slumber. Big Bob was another story; even as a child _before_ he and Helga were dating it was clear he didn't care much for Arnold. There was some sort of a weird feud between Big Bob and his grandfather that Arnold never really understood and that seemed to seep over to the way the man regarded him. When the two blondes started dating Big Bob was often rude and dismissive, if he even acknowledged him at all. Once during sixth grade Arnold sat on his bike outside the Pataki residence, waiting for Helga to meet him. He happened to overhear a very blustery Bob Pataki yelling about how "no daughter of his would be the neighborhood skank, running around with poor street vermin." Helga wasn't the type to back down, and the string of profanities that left her mouth before stomping out of the house and slamming the door behind her certainly reinforced that notion.

Arnold opened the door to her bedroom slowly, and winced as the hinges squeaked loudly at him. Helga groaned, "Good god Arnold, just open the fucking door would ya?!"

He jumped and raced into the room, quickly closing the door behind them. " _Shhh!_ You trying to make me drop you?"

"Oh calm down, would ya? I already told you, they're asleep."

Arnold grumbled and crouched beside her bed, she slid off of his back onto the mattress. He crossed the room and found the lightswitch on the wall, flipping it on before he sat down next to her. He watched as she examined her ankle, it looked pretty painful, now that they were in the light of her bedroom. It was certainly red and swollen, and there was a faint blue hue that was indicative of some nasty bruising starting.

"You should probably ice that," he told her and she nodded back at him.

"If you go down to the kitchen, there should be a bag of frozen peas in the freezer," she explained.

Arnold's eyes widened, "Down in the kitchen? As in I have to leave the room and walk through your house?"

"Well there sure aren't any in here, Football Head!" Helga groaned. "Arnold please, I already told you, they're passed the fuck out. You'll be fine. Go down the stairs and through the hallway in the front room. Hang a left and you're there. Miriam has night lights and shit down there so she doesn't break her drunken neck trying to find alcohol in the dark, it shouldn't be a problem. Can you get me some water too? My head's killing me."

Arnold sighed before silently rising from the bed and exiting the room. He crept down the dark hallway and down the stairs, once at the bottom, he made his way towards the back of the house, and hung a left into the kitchen as Helga instructed. The house was pretty nice, which didn't surprise him in the least. Even though Big Bob lost his business, the guy still knew how to make money despite it, that's for sure. He retrieved the bag of peas from the freezer, found a cup that he filled with cool water, and silently strode back up to Helga's bedroom, his heart pounding as he did. He already almost got caught in her bedroom before, he wondered how much he was pushing his luck, especially on an already particularly unlucky night.

Arnold sighed in relief as he safely crossed the threshold of Helga's bedroom door. He sat on the bed next to her and handed her the cup of water, which she drank almost all of in one go.

"Here, let me help you ice that," Arnold said, and pulled both of her legs onto his lap. He placed the cold bag onto her ankle. "Looks pretty painful, you think you broke anything?"

Helga shook her head, "Nah, I think I just twisted it pretty good. Ice is already making it feel better though, thanks."

Arnold iced Helga's ankle for about as long as she could handle the cold before asking him to put the bag on the bedside table next to them. She stretched her arms over her head and groaned before motioning for him to help her up.

"I need outta this stupid dress. Can you help me?" she asked, using her mouth to pull the gloves from her slender arms.

Arnold felt his face redden and nodded, carefully pulling her up off of the bed. She used the bedpost to support herself and turned her back to him. His hands trembled slightly, and his hands fumbled for a moment before successfully unzipping the back of her dress. His hands gently found their way underneath the fabric of her shoulders, and guided the fabric down, exposing her a bit. She held an arm out, and his hand travelled towards her wrist, removing the sleeve of one side before doing the same to the other. His fingers maneuvered the bulk of the dress down, and he made light contact with the sides of her stomach and hips. She shivered at his touch, it was so warm and tender.

Arnold was doing everything he could to try and control himself, even as he felt her gently tremble from the contact of his fingertips. A kiss wouldn't hurt though, right? That's certainly innocent enough. He let his arms wrap around her waist and softly pressed his lips into the crook of her neck and exhaled onto her skin. Helga's body tensed, she could do little else to react to him, as her arms were still preoccupied in holding her upright. She hadn't been wearing a bra under her dress, and she realized how absolutely exposed she was.

Helga spoke simply, "Arnold, sit down."

He cringed a bit at the succinct nature of her words. He didn't blame her for not wanting to be touched, she was just trying to change and had a sprained ankle on top of it, after all. Helga guided herself to the edge of the mattress, using the bedpost to support herself. Arnold averted his eyes from her, he didn't want to make her anymore uncomfortable. He felt her hands fumbling with his neck, and he curiously looked down to see that she was unfastening the silken bowtie he was wearing. Before he could react, her mouth found his neck and she unbuttoned the first few buttons of his dress shirt. Her fingers quickly unhinged the links that held his suspenders in place before making quick work of the rest of the buttons of his shirt. She slid the shirt off of him, planting kisses and nibbling at his neck and exposed chest. Good, now they were on an even playing field.

Arnold felt his breath grow heavy in anticipation. It had been weeks since they had sex, with the last time being a rushed and not exactly "romantic" encounter in the back of his Packard. One hand found her breast, and teased the nub of her nipple. He was excited, but reminded himself to proceed gently, despite his more primal instincts screaming at him. She was pretty badly hurt after all. In fact, it would probably be in his best interest to let her control the situation. While she seemed to have sobered up, it wasn't his place to gauge that. Plus with an injury, he didn't want to force her into anything. He felt a pang of guilt hit him, he _did_ kiss her first. Perhaps that was not a wise choice.

"Listen, Helga. I don't want to like, pressure you into doing anything. Since you were drinking and hurt your ankle and all, if and when you want to stop is totally fine-,"

Helga balled some of his hair into her fist and leaned her mouth to whisper into his ear, "Arnold, please stop talking. Go turn off the light."

He obeyed quite readily, and after turning off the light and crossing back to her bed, he quickly slipped his shoes and socks off of his feet.

"Take your pants off and lay behind me," Helga instructed, and Arnold added his trousers to the growing piles of clothes on the floor. "Do you have a condom?"

Arnold felt his face grow hot, "O-of course," he mumbled and retrieved a small package from the pocket of his trousers.

He set the condom on the bedside table and laid close behind Helga. She arched her back, rubbing her bottom against his hard-on, and turned her head while guiding his head toward her, and their mouths crashed together. Helga's lips parted, and their tongues met, eliciting a small moan from her that met Arnold's mouth. He felt the hunger inside of him grow, he wanted her and he wanted her very badly. His hands worked their way around to the front of her and grasped at her chest. He bucked his pelvis into her, and his mouth focused on suckling on her neck and shoulder. He let a hand travel down her torso, and wasted little time in rubbing her between her legs. She moaned quietly, and he smirked before sliding a finger inside of her. Her hand moved behind her to the back of his head and fisted his hair firmly, giving a generous tug.

Arnold groaned as her hand migrated quickly towards his boxers, and grasped the hard member between his legs. She worked her hand forward and back, tugging him and making his breathing hitched. They were both feeling one another in anticipation, but both were fairly gentle in their movements. Despite Helga being quite dominant in her words, she was quite docile now in comparison. A bit like putty in his hands. Perhaps that was her way of garnering some reassurance and telling him this was what she wanted. Not that he minded, he felt privileged that she even wanted him in her bed with her right now.

Arnold quickened the work of his fingers as she grew more wet, and her body writhed against the front of him. His other fingers tenderly squeezed at her nipple, while his mouth continued to pepper her with kisses. He really liked to make her cum, it made fucking her that much more satisfying. Her breaths grew ragged and he could hear her moaning grow ever so slightly louder and in higher pitch than before. He knew she had to stay quiet, which was a bit of a bummer for him, but something about her struggling to stifle herself was something of a turn-on all on its own. That didn't last long though as she rolled her hips and a piercing sort of shriek came from her.

Arnold quickly placed a hand over her mouth while she climaxed, and as soon as her body relaxed he leaned his head forward and spoke lowly into her ear while rolling the condom onto himself, "Fuck, I love you."

Helga had virtually no time to respond verbally as he entered her from behind. Arnold was careful not to jostle her too much, and made slow and steady movements inside of her. Helga was very much thankful for his hand still muffling the sounds coming from her mouth, it had been a long time since they had connected like this, and she was still reeling from the orgasm she had just had. Something about this position, too. It was a new one, but something about it was so intimate especially with Arnold clinging to her the way he was, she could really feel all of him. He used the hand covering her mouth to gently turn her face to him. He kissed her deeply and they moaned their breaths into each other's mouths.

Arnold continued moving in and out of her, being mindful of her leg positioning even as he pushed himself deeper inside of her with every forward motion of his hips. He kept his pace steady, and his movements were deliberate and tactful. He nibbled her ear and suckled every part of her that he possibly could whilst laying on his side behind her. Arnold could feel the satisfaction building in his groin, he slowed his hips to try and last as long as possible, he didn't want to finish just yet. She shared the same sentiments as she slowed the rolling of her hips in time with his own.

Despite everything, the cliché shopping spree, Helga snapping her ankle, seeing the creepy shadow person as she was leaving the theatre, not to mention everything outside of this time, this proved that they overcame some shit, didn't it? Maybe their friends are right, maybe they _could_ be together, as more than just...whatever they are presently. She wanted it, she knew that now. They could take on all the bullshit together, as a team. Helga didn't want to be fragmented anymore, it wasn't good for either of them. They were strong when they were together, they could help each other, support each other. She loved him, she loved him so much and she knew he loved her. Fuck what anyone else has to say, she was going to make him hers tonight. They could sort out the shitty details later. She didn't want to think about that stuff. She wanted to think about this moment, and all of the other good moments they've had. Fuck his drugs, and Sid, and their parents, and Tyler. Fuck all of them. He was hers. And like a fucking lioness, she would rip out the throats of anyone who dare try to tear them apart.

Helga felt Arnold quicken his pace ever so slightly, and gripped his hair roughly. He moaned as she tugged his blonde locks and he moved even faster inside of her. He bit down on her shoulder, and he climaxed inside of her, their breathing in sync as he finished. Arnold peppered every inch of her that he could reach with kisses. They were both covered in sweat, and even though they were in the dark and were unable to see, the two grinned from ear-to-ear.

Arnold wondered why the hell they didn't just have sex all the time? He would take this over some percocet any day of the week. Granted, the dopamine and serotonin centers of his brain would take what they could get, but once oxytocin came into play, it became increasingly clear that sex with Helga would always win.

The two blondes laid there for a moment, trying to catch their breath. Thoughts in their heads going a mile a minute.

"How's your leg?" Arnold asked breathlessly.

Helga chuckled softly, "It's fine Football Head, thanks for asking."

Arnold snaked his arms tightly around her, pulling her close to him. This was it, wasn't it? The moment he had been waiting for all evening. They could finally talk.

"Good, that's a relief," he said and exhaled some of the anxiety he was having. He had been hoping that he didn't make matters worse for her physically. "So listen, remember what we were talking about at the Circle? And I told you we'd take a rain check?"

"Oh yeah I actually do, now that you mention it."

"Okay, so now do you know what I'm thinking about when I'm looking at you?" he asked quietly. Helga didn't respond right away.

"Seriously with this question again? I dunno, _sex_ I'm guessing? Can't you just _tell_ me?"

Arnold sighed in frustration, "Alright, I guess asking does just kind of make it confusing. I dunno what's wrong with me, I'm the one with a question for you anyway."

Helga felt her eyes grow wide, she didn't know what to say to that, "You just want to ask me a question? Shoulda known the day would come where you'd be asking me to rob a bank or hide a body with you."

Arnold chuckled, "I'm literally not going to ask either of those things...wait, you knew I'd ask you one of those things and you still spent the whole night with me? Are you suggesting that you _would_ hide a body with me Helga?"

"Oh don't go gettin' all cocky. Of course I'd help, god forbid your dense ass tries to hide a body alone," she said and snickered.

"Alright, alright, I hear you, I'd be a terrible accomplice. I wasn't quite done with what I was trying to ask you though," he continued nervously.

"So that _wasn't_ it, huh?" Helga replied quietly. She could sense his anxiety clinging to his words. "Alright Arnoldo, ask me anything."


End file.
